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LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

PRINCETON,  N.  J. 

PRESENTED  BY 


J3d.  J 


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LA  CJ  . 


P.  V  Q 
Division...,. . W 

BV  1520  .M3  1923 

Maus,  Cynthia  Pearl. 
\ outn  and  the  church 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2019  with  funding  from 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


https://archive.org/details/youthchurchrnanua00maus_0 


YOUTH  AN 


THE  CHURCH 


A  Manual  for  Teachers  and 
Leaders  of  Intermediates, 
Seniors  and  Young 
People 

By 

CYNTHIA  PEARL  MAUS 

Young  People’s  Division  Superintendent,  Department  of 
Religious  Education  of  the  United  Christian 
Missionary  Society,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 


SEVENTH  EDITION 

Enlarged  and  Revised  with  Teaching  Outlines,  Discussional  and 
Examination  Questions  for  Use  in  Community  Training 
Schools,  Leadership  Training  Schools,  Young 
People’s  Conferences,  and  Teacher 
Training  Classes 


CINCINNATI,  O. 

THE  STANDARD  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 


Copyrighted,  1923 
The  Standard  Publishing  Company 


This  book  is  affectionately  dedicated  to  my 
mother  and  father, 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  R.  D.  Maus 


FOREWORD  AND  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 


HE  problem  of  religious  education  in  all  its 


A  phases  has  been  given  wider  consideration 
during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  than  in  all 
the  rest  of  the  Reformation  period  combined.  There 
is  hardly  a  type  of  work  in  the  realm  of  Christian 
education  upon  which  one  or  more  books  have  not 
been  written. 

The  standards  recently  adopted  by  the  Sunday 
School  Council  of  Evangelical  Denominations  for 
work  with  young  people  in  the  local  church  call 
forth  another  which  the  author  hopes  may  be  at 
least  suggestive  to  churches  desiring  to  unify  the 
leadership  and  correlate  the  program  of  Christian 
education  for  the  youth  of  the  church. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  manual  for  teachers 
of  Intermediate,  Senior  and  Young  People’s  classes 
the  author  gratefully  acknowledges  her  indebted¬ 
ness  to  the  works  of  Professors  Coe,  Starbuck, 
Atheara,  Weigle,  King  and  Butler;  to  Dr.  Ward 
C.  Crampton  and  Margaret  Slattery ;  to  Messrs. 
Hartshorne,  Alexander  and  Foster ;  to  the  pub¬ 
lished  questionnaire  and  replies  presented  by  Dr. 
Wade  Crawford  Barclay  to  the  members  of  the 
Sunday  School  Council;  and  to  the  “Canadian 


5 


FOREWORD  AND  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 


Standard  of  Efficiency  Tests  for  Boys,”  “Canadian 
Girls  in  Training,”  and  the  “American  Standard 
Program  for  Boys.” 

Besides  such  acknowledgments  as  are  made  in 
the  text,  the  author  wishes  to  express  her  thanks 
to  the  members  of  the  Young  People’s  Work  Com¬ 
mittee  of  the  Sunday  School  Council;  to  the  Sec¬ 
ondary  Division  Council  of  the  Bible  School  De¬ 
partment  of  the  American  Christian  Missionary 
Society;  and  to  a  host  of  friends  and  teachers  of 
young  people  the  continent  over,  whose  conference 
and  co-operation  have  made  possible  this  book. 
To  all  who  have  helped  in  any  way,  the  author  is 
deeply  grateful.  c.  p.  m. 

Cincinnati,  0.,  Jan.  1,  1919. 


6 


CONTENTS 


Introduction 


page 

.  11 


The  Keorganized  Young  People’s  (Secon¬ 
dary)  Division _ _  21 


II 


The  Intermediate  Department 


_  45 


III 


The  Senior  Department 


73 


IV 


The  Young  People’s  Department  ...... 


98 


V 


The  Organized  Young  People’s  Division 


Fourfold  Programs  for  Developing  Life  ......  149 

7 


CONTENTS 


VII 

Graded  Worship  _ 

VIII 

Graded  Instruction  _ 


IX 

Graded  Expression  _ 

X 

The  Ultimate  Goal  . . . . 

Examination  Questions  _ _ 

A  Classified  List  of  Books  . 


174 


200 


_  224 


247 

. .  258 

.  261 


8 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

Building  Plan  I.,  for  School  of  100  . . .  10 

Building  Plan  III.,  for  School  of  150  .  19 

Building  Plan  XIV.,  for  School  of  250  _  47 

An  Attractive  Intermediate  Department  . . .  49 

Movable  Assembly-room  Chair  with  Folding 
Arm  . 88 

Tablet  Arm-chair  . . . . . „ . . .  Ill 

A  Community  Class  of  Teachers  Specializing 
in  Work  with  Teen-age  Girls  .  119 

Moulthrop  Table-chair  Desk  .  136 

Classroom  Screens _  139 

Credit  Cards  and  Records  _  140 

Building  Plan  XXXVII . . 164 

An  Intermediate  Worship  Assembly  . 179 

Building  Plan  XL VII.,  First  Floor  . . .  204 

Building  Plan  XL VII.,  Second  Floor . _ .  205 

Geography  Class  . 231 


9 


PLAN  I.* 

R.  H.  Hunt,  Architect,  Chattanooga,  Tennessee. 

Plan  I.  is  an  improvement  and  enlargement  of  the  traditional 
one-room  building.  It  offers  fair  equipment  for  schools  numbering 
fifty  to  one  hundred. 


*  P.  E.  Burroughs,  Church  and  Sunday  School  Buildings  (p.  43). 

10 


INTRODUCTION 


THE  task  of  Christian  education  and  evangeli¬ 
zation  is  coming  more  and  more  to  be  re¬ 
garded  as  the  work  of  the  church.  The  early 
church  met  together  for  communion,  prayer,  praise, 
the  study  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  gospel 
(good  news)  witnessing  of  the  leaders  and  teach¬ 
ers  of  the  early  Christian  era.  The  effect  of  the 
apostasy  on  the  teaching  function  of  the  early 
church  resulted  in  making  the  religion  of  J esus 
Christ  pulpit-centered  instead  of  class-centered. 
The  trend  of  the  church  of  to-day  is  toward  get¬ 
ting  back  to  the  teaching  function  and  responsi¬ 
bility  of  the  church  of  the  first  century.  Separate 
organizations  (brotherhoods;  missionary,  aid  and 
young  people’s  societies;  young  ladies’  circles  and 
guilds;  triangle  clubs  and  mission  bands),  all  of 
which  had  their  origin  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  Reformation  era,  are  gradually  being  sub¬ 
merged  in  the  larger  life  of  the  church  itself. 

Indeed,  so  far  has  this  idea  of  unification  and 
correlation  progressed,  that  many  churches  are 
now  organizing  all  their  educational,  evangelistic, 
missionary  and  benevolent  work  on  the  basis  of 

departments  of  church  life,  rather  than  on  the 

11 


INTRODUCTION 


basis  of  a  half-dozen  or  more  unrelated  and  more 
or  less  independent  organizations.  It  is  indeed  a 
hopeful  sign,  for  the  church — not  brotherhoods ; 
missionary,  aid  and  young  people’s  societies; 
circles,  guilds,  bands  and  clubs — is  the  instrument 
that  Jesus  founded  and  through  which  His  king¬ 
dom-building  enterprise  is  to  be  carried  to  the 
last  man,  woman  and  child  in  the  world. 

The  church  contains  people  of  all  ages.  The 
young,  not  yet  old  enough  for  formal  membership 
in  the  body  of  Christ,  but  who  are  being  nurtured 
by  the  church  into  the  likeness  of  Christ,  are  they 
not  the  children  of  the  church?  Rapidly  maturing 
boys  and  girls  and  young  people,  making  their 
life  choices,  accepting  Jesus  as  a  personal  Saviour 
and  Guide,  being  trained  for,  and  enlisted  in,  His 
service,  are  they  not  the  youth  of  the  church  ? 
The  men  and  women  of  maturer  years,  carrying 
the  full  burden  of  responsibility  for  the  evangeli¬ 
zation  and  Christianization  of  the  wide,  wide 
world,  are  they  not  the  men  and  women  of  the 
church?  Why,  then,  the  need  of  separate  men’s 
and  women’s,  young  people’s,  boys’  and  girls’  and 
children’s  organizations,  related  to,  but  not  neces¬ 
sarily  including,  the  whole  body  of  the  church? 
Can  not  the  church,  organized  on  the  basis  of 
departments  of  church  life,  each  departmental 
group  corresponding  to  a  natural  life  period  and 
administered  under  one  leadership  and  super¬ 
vision,  carry  on  all  the  educational,  evangelistic, 

12 


INTRODUCTION 


missionary  and  benevolent  work  of  the  church 
without  a  multiplicity  of  more  or  less  independent, 
unrelated  and  uncorrelated  organizations  ? 

There  is  a  constantly  increasing  belief,  on  the 
part  of  the  churches  of  Christ  everywhere,  that 
such  a  program  of  organization  would  forward 
the  work  of  the  kingdom  for  all  time.  Suppose 
it  should  mean  the  loss  of  some  of  the  terms  that 
through  the  years  we  have  grown  accustomed  to 
and  that  are  dear  to  us,  would  it  matter  much  if, 
through  such  a  unification  and  correlation  of  all 
the  agencies  of  Christian  education  and  evan¬ 
gelization,  the  work  of  the  kingdom  of  our  Master 
went  increasingly  on? 

Personally,  the  author  would  be  willing  to  see 
the  terms  ‘  ‘  Sunday  school,  ”  “  Christian  En¬ 

deavor,  ”  “Mission  Band,”  “Circle,”  “Triangle 
Club,”  etc.,  dear  as  they  are,  disappear  entirely 
from  our  church  nomenclature,  if  in  so  doing  the 
term  “church”  might  come  to  have  an  increasing 
interest,  emphasis,  love  and  significance  in  the 
lives  of  young  people.  The  author  has  tested 
groups  of  young  people  in  every  section  of  the 
United  States,  and  has  yet  to  find  a  single  boy  or 
girl,  in  the  adolescent  years,  who  is  being  trained 
to  think  and  speak  in  terms  of  the  church.  Ask 
any  group  of  church  young  people,  anywhere, 
what  organization  they  think  of  when  you  say 
Christian  education,  and  they  will  reply,  “The 
Sunday  school,  ’  ’  or  the  ‘  ‘  church  college.  ’  ’  Ask 

13 


INTRODUCTION 


them  what  term  they  think  of  when  yon  say  train¬ 
ing  for  service ,  and  they  will  respond,  “Chris¬ 
tian  Endeavor, ”  “Epworth  League,”  or  “Baptist 
Young  People’s  Union.”  Ask  them  what  organi¬ 
zation  they  think  of  when  you  say  missions ,  and 
they  will  reply,  “Young  Ladies’  Circle,”  “Guild,” 
“Mission  Band,”  “Triangle  Club,”  etc.  In  five 
or  more  years  of  testing  now,  the  author  has  yet 
to  hear  an  individual  or  a  group  respond,  “The 
church;”  and  yet  it  was  the  church,  not  auxiliary 
organizations,  to  which  Jesus  referred  when  He 
said:  “Upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my  church, 
and  the  gates  of  Hades  shall  not  prevail  against 
it.” 

The  natural  units  of  organization  for  correlat¬ 
ing  the  educational,  evangelistic,  missionary  and 
benevolent  work  of  the  church  will  be  found  in 
the  grading  of  the  modern  church  school,  for  the 
departments  of  the  church’s  school  are  based  upon 
natural  life  periods — the  Cradle  Roll  (infancy), 
the  Beginners  (early  childhood),  the  Primary  (mid¬ 
dle  childhood),  the  Junior  (later  childhood),  the 
Intermediate  (early  adolescence),  the  Senior  (mid¬ 
dle  adolescence),  the  Young  People’s  (later  adoles¬ 
cence),  the  Adult  (maturity),  and  the  Home  or 
Extension  Department  (the  aged  and  shut-ins). 
Why  can  not  these  departments,  organized  from 
the  church  point  of  view,  properly  supervised, 
administered  and  equipped,  become  the  basis  of 
organization  for  all  that  is  done  by  the  church 

14 


\ 


INTRODUCTION 


for  and  with  each  natural  group?  The  growing 
sentiment  in  favor  of  the  plan  is  a  healthy  indica¬ 
tion  that  a  unified  and  correlated  program  of 
Christian  education  and  evangelization  is  to  be  the 
policy  of  the  church  of  the  future. 

In  the  chapters  that  follow,  the  author  has 
attempted  to  give,  not  only  a  survey  of  the  growth 
and  development  of  organized  work  with  young 
people  in  the  local  church,  but  to  suggest  a  plan 
and  program  by  which  the  educational,  evangelistic, 
missionary  and  benevolent  work  of  the  church, 
with  its  youth,  may  be  unified  and  correlated  in 
such  a  way  as  to  make  the  church,  and  not  auxili¬ 
ary  organizations,  central  in  the  thinking  of  boys 
and  girls  and  young  people. 

With  the  hope  that  pastors,  church  officers, 
and  teachers  and  leaders  of  young  people  may 
find,  in  the  chapters  that  follow,  some  suggestions 
that  will  guide  them  in  working  out  a  unified  and 
correlated  program  of  Christian  education  for  the 
youth  of  the  church,  this  book,  revised  and  en¬ 
larged,  and  containing  teaching  outlines  and  dis- 
cussional  questions  on  each  chapter,  is  respect¬ 
fully  submitted.  Cynthia  Pearl  Maus. 

Revised  January,  1923. 


15 


INTRODUCTION 


TEACHING  OUTLINE. 

The  Work  of  the  Church. 

1.  Christian  education  and  evangelization  the  specific  work 
of  the  church.  Matt.  28:  19,  20. 

2.  Early  church  met  together  for  communion,  prayer, 
praise,  the  study  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  gospel  (good 
news)  witnessing  of  the  leaders  and  teachers  of  the  early 
Christian  era. 

3.  The  effect  of  the  apostasy  on  the  teaching  function  of 
the  early  church  resulted  in  making  the  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ  pulpit-centered  instead  of  class-centered. 

4.  The  trend  of  the  church  of  to-day  is  toward  getting 
back  to  the  teaching  function  and  responsibility  of  the 
church  of  the  first  century. 

5.  The  idea  of  correlation  and  unification  has  progressed 
to  the  extent  that  many  churches  are  now  organizing  all 
their  educational,  evangelistic,  missionary  and  benevolent 
work  on  the  basis  of  departments  of  church  life,  rather  than 
on  the  basis  of  independent,  unrelated  organizations. 

Scope  of  the  Work  of  the  Church. 

1.  Church  contains  people  of  all  ages: 

(1)  The  young,  not  yet  old  enough  for  formal  mem¬ 
bership  in  the  body  of  Christ’s  church. 

(2)  Rapidly  maturing  boys  and  girls. 

(3)  Young  people. 

(4)  Mature  men  and  women. 

2.  Can  not  the  church,  organized  on  the  basis  of  depart¬ 
ments  of  church  life,  each  departmental  group  corresponding 
to  a  natural  life  period,  and  administered  under  one  leader¬ 
ship  and  supervision,  carry  on  all  the  educational,  evangelistic, 
missionary  and  benevolent  work  of  the  church  without  a 
multitude  of  independent,  unrelated  and  uncorrelated  organ¬ 
izations  ? 


16 


INTRODUCTION 


(1)  There  is  a  constantly  increasing  trend  in  that 
direction  among  all  the  Protestant  churches  of 
North  America. 

3.  The  church  is  divine. 

(1)  The  scope  of  its  work  is  to  train  the  childhood 
and  youth  of  each  succeeding  generation  to  help 
build,  in  the  life  of  the  world,  the  kingdom  of 
God. 

Natural  Units  of  Organization. 

1.  The  natural  units  of  organization  for  correlating  the 
educational,  evangelistic,  missionary  and  benevolent  work  of 
the  church  will  be  found  in  the  departmental  groupings  of 
the  modern  graded  church  school,  each  of  which  corresponds 
to  a  natural  life  period: 

(1)  Cradle  Roll — period  of  infancy. 

(2)  Beginners  Department — early  childhood. 

(3)  Primary  Department — middle  childhood. 

(4)  Junior  Department — later  childhood. 

(5)  Intermediate  Department — early  adolescence. 

(6)  Senior  department — middle  adolescence. 

(7)  Young  People’s  Department — later  adolescence. 

(8)  Adult  Department — maturity. 

(9)  Home  or  Extension  Departments — aged  and  shut- 
ins. 

2.  Through  departments  of  church  life,  based  on  natural 
life  groups,  all  the  work  of  the  church  may  be  organized  and 
administered  in  such  a  way  as  to  train  children,  young 
people  and  adults  to  think  and  serve  in  terms  of  the  church, 
and  not  auxiliary  organizations. 

The  Author’s  Purpose. 

1.  To  help  pastors,  church  officers,  teachers  and  leaders  of 
young  people  in  the  working  out  of  a  correlated,  unified  pro¬ 
gram  of  Christian  education  and  evangelization  for  the 
youth  of  the  church. 

2 


17 


INTRODUCTION 


2.  The  chapters  that  follow  give  a  detailed  approach  to 
the  task  of  correlation  and  unification  for  the  three  adolescent 
groups : 

( 1 )  Intermediates — early  adolescents. 

(2)  Seniors — middle  adolescents. 

(3)  Young  people — later  adolescents. 

QUESTIONS  FOR  STUDY  AND  DISCUSSION. 

1.  What  is  the  real  work  of  the  church? 

2.  What  was  the  effect  of  the  apostasy  on  the  teaching 
function  of  the  early  church? 

3.  How  may  all  the  work  of  the  church  be  organized  and 
administered  under  one  leadership  and  supervision? 

4.  Discuss  the  scope  of  the  work  of  the  church. 

5.  What  are  the  natural  units  of  organization  for  correlat¬ 
ing  the  educational,  evangelistic  and  missionary  work  of  the 
church  ?  Why  ? 

6.  What  is  the  author’s  purpose  in  writing  this  book? 


18 


s 

PORCH 

JO  v»*>t 

b_ a 

M 

PLAN  III.* 

E.  H.  Hunt,  Architect,  Chattanooga,  Tennessee. 

In  Plan  III.  we  have  an  extension  of  Plan  I.,  two  rooms  being 
added  on  each  side  of  the  auditorium.  This  plan  provides  nine 
classrooms  and  offers  ample  provision  for  schools  enrolling  one 
hundred  and  fifty. 


*P.  E.  Burroughs,  Ohurch  and  Sunday  School  Buildings  (p.  45). 

19 


I 


THE  REORGANIZED  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S 
(SECONDARY)  DIVISION 

IN  order  to  fully  understand  the  “why”  of  the 
new  grouping  in  young  people’s  work,  it  will 
he  necessary  to  think  through  together  the  growth 
and  development  of  the  educational  work  of  the 
church  through  its  church  school,  for  the  Young 
People’s  Division  of  the  church’s  school,  like 
every  other  division,  has  grown  through  a  period 
of  eight  or  ten  years  to  its  present  development. 
Just  as  the  years  from  1902-1908  mark  the  evolu¬ 
tion  of  the  Elementary  Division,  and  the  years 
from  1905-1914  the  evolution  of  the  Adult  Division, 
so  also  the  years  from  1907-1917  mark  the  evolu¬ 
tion  of  the  present  reorganized  Secondary  oi 
Young  People’s  Division. 

Prior  to  the  year  1900,  departments  were  un¬ 
known  in  the  Sunday-school  world.  The  great 
majority  of  schools  maintained  a  Primary  or  “in¬ 
fants”  class,  with  pupils  ranging  anywhere  from 
babyhood  to  eight  or  nine  years  of  age ;  one  or 
two  hoys’  and  girls’  classes;  a  young  people’s 
class,  and  one  or  more  adult  classes.  In  1902 

21 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


separate  Primary  and  Junior  classes  began  to  be 
agitated,  and  in  1905  the  adult-class  movement 
started  with  everybody  from  sixteen  years  of  age 
on  up,  eligible  to  membership.  The  year  1906 
saw  the  appointment,  by  the  International  Sunday 
School  Association,  of  a  committee  on  ‘  ‘  Inter¬ 
mediate”  work,  and  soon  after  the  term  “Inter¬ 
mediate”  began  to  be  used.  It  was  not,  however, 
until  as  late  as  1908  that  the  term  “Intermediate 
department”  as  such  began  to  be  generally  used. 
That  year  saw,  also,  the  completion  of  the  present 
Elementary  or  Children’s  Division,  with  its  Cradle 
Roll,  Beginners,  Primary  and  Junior  departments 
of  the  church  school. 

In  1909,  because  of  the  large  number  of  boys 
and  girls  who  were  annually  lost  to  the  church’s 
school,  the  attention  of  the  Sunday-school  world 
began  to  center  on  the  upper  teens,  which,  prior 
to  that  time,  had  been  regarded  as  a  part  of  the 
Adult  department,  and  in  1910  a  committee  repre¬ 
senting  the  Intermediate  and  Adult  departments 
of  the  International  Sunday  School  Association 
was  appointed  to  study  and  survey  the  whole  mat¬ 
ter.  This  committee  sent  out  a  questionnaire  to 
the  leading  educators  throughout  North  America, 
and  on  the  basis  of  their  replies  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  International  Sunday  School 
Association  created  the  Senior  department  (ages 
seventeen  to  twenty)  and  made  provision  by  which 

the  Intermediate  and  Senior  departments  were 

22 


REORGANIZED  SECONDARY  DIVISION 


combined  into  an  Advanced  Division  to  rank 
with  the  Elementary. 

In  1911,  in  order  to  conform  more  nearly  to 
current  educational  nomenclature,  the  Interna¬ 
tional  Sunday  School  Convention  at  San  Fran¬ 
cisco  changed  the  name  of  this  new  division  from 
“ Advanced”  to  “Secondary/7  and  on  May  1, 
1912,  Mr.  John  Alexander  was  called  to  become 
the  superintendent.1  By  the  San  Francisco  Con¬ 
vention  this  new  division  was  empowered  to 
appoint  a  commission  to  study  the  whole  problem 
of  the  teen  years,  with  the  understanding  that  the 
findings  were  to  be  published  in  book  form.  Two 
volumes,  “The  Sunday  School  and  the  Teens,” 
and  “The  Teens  and  the  Rural  Sunday  School,7 7 
both  edited  by  Mr.  Alexander,  are  the  result  of 
the  work  of  that  commission,  and  they  have  been 
invaluable  in  the  evolution  of  the  Secondary  or 
Young  People’s  Division. 

In  1910  the  Sunday  School  Council  of  Evan¬ 
gelical  Denominations  was  organized,  and  in  1913 
the  following  agreement  was  entered  into  by  the 
Sunday  School  Council  and  the  International 
Sunday  School  Association:  “That  the  Interna¬ 
tional  Sunday  School  Association  and  the  Sunday 
School  Council  of  Evangelical  Denominations 
recognize  it  to  be  the  right  and  responsibility  of 
each  denomination  to  determine  standards  for  its 

1  Alexander,  The  Secondary  Division  Organized  for  Service  (pp. 
32,  33). 


23 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


own  Sunday  schools.  ’ ’  1  Since  that  time  the  Sun¬ 
day  School  Council  has  been  at  work  on  more  effec¬ 
tive  educational  standards  for  the  Secondary  or 
Young  People’s  Division. 

During  the  years  from  1912  to  1917,  several 
different  forms  of  departmental  organization,  with¬ 
in  the  old  Secondary  Division  (ages  thirteen  to 
twenty),  were  experimented  with,  with  varying  re¬ 
sults.  '  The  majority  of  schools  had  what  was 
known  as  an  Intermediate  department  (ages  thir¬ 
teen  to  sixteen)  and  a  Senior  department  (ages 
seventeen  to  twenty).  Other  schools  grouped  all 
the  pupils  from  thirteen  to  twenty  into  one  depart¬ 
ment,  known  as  the  teen-age  or  high-school  depart¬ 
ment;  and  still  other  schools  had  what  was  known 
as  a  boys’  department  (ages  thirteen  to  twenty), 
under  a  man  superintendent,  usually ;  and  a 
girls’  department  (ages  thirteen  to  twenty),  under 
a  woman  superintendent,  usually. 

> 

It  was  the  author’s  privilege,  during  a  five- 
year  period,  to  test  out,  to  a  greater  or  less  degree, 
each  of  these  three  forms  of  departmental  organi¬ 
zation  under  the  old  standard,  and  no  one  of  them 
seemed  adequate  to  meet  the  needs  of  young  people. 
Sixteen-year-old  girls  especially  were  restless  and 
unsatisfied  in  the  Intermediate  department ;  and 
when  girls  reached  the  age  of  eighteen  or  nine¬ 
teen,  and  put  their  dresses  up  or  down,  accord- 

1  1913  Minutes  of  the  Sunday  School  Council  of  Evangelical  De¬ 
nominations  (p.  54). 


24 


REORGANIZED  SECONDARY  DIVISION 


ing  to  the  prevailing  style,  they  took  themselves 
out  of  the  Senior,  teen-age  or  girls’  department 
and  joined  the  young  people’s  class.  Boys  of 
twenty-one  and  twenty-two,  who  had  been  duly 
promoted  into  the  young  people’s  class,  but  who 
had  a  “crush”  on  some  girl  in  the  middle  teens, 
refused  to  group  with  young  people,  preferring 
to  remain  in  the  Senior,  teen-age,  or  boys’  depart¬ 
ment.  The  experience  of  the  writer  was  not  dif- 
erent  from  the  experience  of  nearly  every  other 
worker  with  young  people  on  the  continent.  The 
old  arbitrary  age  limits  of  thirteen  to  sixteen  for 
the  Intermediate  department,  and  seventeen  to 
twenty  for  the  Senior  department,  would  not  work. 
Pupils  refused  to  stay  “put,”  and  there  was  gen¬ 
eral  dissatisfaction  with  all  three  of  the  old  depart¬ 
mental  groupings.  And  so,  in  1914,  the  Young 
People’s  Work  Committee  of  the  Sunday  School 
Council,  in  joint  conference  with  the  Secondary 
Division  leadership  of  the  International  Sunday 
School  Association,  began  the  task  of  study  and 
investigation  looking  toward  new  standards  for 
the  Secondary  Division  that  would  make  it 
possible  to  meet,  in  a  larger  way,  the  individual 
and  group  needs  of  the  youth  of  the  church. 

All  students  of  child  life  are  agreed  that  in  the 
development  of  life  from  birth  to  the  grave  there 
are  certain  fairly  well-defined  periods  or  epochs. 
These  periods  are  often  referred  to  as  infancy, 
childhood,  youth,  maturity,  etc.  This  is  evidently 

25 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


God’s  plan  for  developing  life.  It  follows  natural¬ 
ly  that  those  who  wish  to  deal  successfully  with  life 
must  make  their  plan  and  program  conform  to 
these  more  or  less  clearly  defined  periods  of  de¬ 
velopment.  In  the  field  of  secular  education  these 
life  periods  have  long  been  recognized  in  elemen¬ 
tary,  secondary  and  collegiate  schools,  and  the  re¬ 
cent  agitation  in  the  secular  school  world  for  the 
reorganization  of  the  public  schools  of  this  country 
on  the  basis  of  the  six-six  plan — six  years  of  ele¬ 
mentary  education  and  six  years  in  secondary  or 
Junior-Senior  high  school — is  an  indication  that 
the  secular  schools  are  recognizing  these  life  periods 
with  constantly  increasing  efficiency.  The  action 
of  the  Sunday  School  Council  at  its  January 
(1917)  meeting  in  Boston,  Mass.,  in  changing  the 
scope  of  the  Secondary  Division  of  the  church’s 
school  to  cover  the  whole  period  of  adolescence 
(twelve  or  thirteen  to  twenty-four  years),  is  an 
indication  that  the  Sunday-school  world  is  begin¬ 
ning  to  recognize  these  natural  life  periods  with 
ever-increasing  efficiency. 

The  scope  of  the  Secondary  Division  as  it  is 
now  constituted  covers  the  years  from  twelve  or 
thirteen  to  maturity,  and  recognizes  within  that 
scope  three  natural  or  normal  groups:  (1)  The 
Intermediate  department  or  group  (ages  twelve  to 
fourteen  approximately),  (2)  the  Senior  depart¬ 
ment  or  group  (ages  fifteen  to  seventeen  approxi¬ 
mately),  and  (3)  the  Young  People’s  department 

26 


REORGANIZED  SECONDARY  DIVISION 


or  group  (ages  eighteen  to  twenty-four  approxi¬ 
mately)  ;  with  the  understanding  that  the  group¬ 
ing  of  any  particular  pupil  is  not  to  he  determined 
by  age  alone ;  the  public-school  grade,  week-day 
social  relations,  mental  and  religious  development, 
are  exceedingly  important  factors  and  are  to  be 
taken  into  account.1  The  groupings  just  referred 
to  are  in  all  cases  to  be  considered  flexible,  thus 
permitting  the  adjustment  of  the  group  to  the 
needs  of  individual  pupils. 

Reasons  for  the  Regrouping. 

Physiological :  The  term  “  adolescence1 1  means 
“ growing’1  or  “ maturing, ”  and  close  study  and 
observation  show  that  there  are  three  (not  two) 
clearly  marked  stages  of  growth  within  this  ten 
or  twelve  year  period. 

The  first  stage  covers  the  years  from  twelve 
to  fifteen,  and  is  often  referred  to  as  the  organic 
period  or  early  adolescence.  During  the  period  of 
childhood  nature  has  been  at  work  building  the 
body  of  a  boy  or  girl.  With  the  period  of  adoles¬ 
cence  there  begins  another  ten  or  twelve  year 
process,  during  the  first  three  or  four  years  of 
which  the  body  of  a  child  becomes  the  body  of 
an  adult. 

The  second  stage  cover  the  years  from  fifteen 
to  eighteen  and  is  often  referred  to  as  the  emotional 

1 1917  Minutes  of  the  Sunday  School  Council  of  Evangelical  De¬ 

nominations  (pp.  44,  45). 


27 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


period  or  middle  adolescence.  During  these  years, 
nature,  having  built  the  body  of  an  adult,  installs 
in  that  body  the  emotional  nature  of  maturity. 

The  third  stage  covers  the  years  from  eighteen 
to  twenty-four,  and  is  often  referred  to  as  the  in¬ 
tellectual  period  or  later  adolescence.  During  these 
years  the  reason  and  will  centers  of  the  brain 
mature  rapidly,  giving  the  power  for  independent 
thought  and  balance  to  the  emotional  instability 
of  the  middle  teens. 

Of  course,  as  Professor  Atheam  indicates,  “all 
these  changes  are  going  on  at  once,  but  physical 
changes  are  the  dominant  characteristic  of  the 
first  period,  emotional  development  characteristic 
of  the  second  period,  and  intellectual  reconstruc¬ 
tion  is  the  distinguishing  element  in  the  third 
period.”  1 

Dr.  Ward  C.  Cramp  ton  says:  “The  greatest 
failure  of  education  to-day  is  its  inability  to  recog¬ 
nize  the  fact  that  sexual  ripening  determines  an 
entirely  new  outlook  upon  life.  The  pubertal 
change  leaves  the  child  a  wholly  different  being, 
different  mentally,  physically  and  morally  from 
children  in  the  stage  left  behind.  ’  ’*  3  And  while 
no  arbitrary  grouping  can  ever  be  worked  out  that 
will  determine  with  accuracy  just  when  the  transi¬ 
tion  from  childhood  to  maturity  takes  place 

1  The  Church  School  (p.  174). 

3  King,  The  High  School  Age  (p.  41). 


28 


REORGANIZED  SECONDARY  DIVISION 


(there  is  a  very  wide  variance  in  the  pubescent 
period  in  individuals  and  the  sexes.  Girls  usually 
enter  and  pass  through  this  period  anywhere  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  months  earlier  than  boys) ,  all 
authorities  are  agreed  in  thinking  that  the  years 
from  twelve  to  fifteen  with  boys,  and  from  eleven 
to  fourteen  or  fifteen  with  girls,  mark  the  transi¬ 
tional  period  of  adolescence. 

“The  basis  of  all  development  is  physical.  The 
nerves  and  muscles  are  the  instruments  of  the 
intellect,  the  feelings  and  the  will;  and  self-control 
and  the  development  of  all  the  higher  moral  and 
intellectual  powers  depend  upon  the  proper  inter¬ 
action  of  nerves  and  muscles. ’  ’ 1  Inasmuch  as 
adolescence  is  the  age  of  nerve  and  muscle  educa¬ 
tion,  the  Young  People’s  Work  Committee  of  the 
Sunday  School  Council  felt  that  the  departmental 
groupings  of  the  youth  of  the  church  ought,  as 
nearly  as  possible,  to  conform  to  these  natural 
life  periods,  in  order  that  we  might  plan  the  edu¬ 
cational  program  for  youth  in  such  a  way  as  to 
develop  the  physical  life  of  each  natural  group 
to  its  “wth”  power.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that 
a  strong,  healthy  body  inhibits  wrong  tendencies. 
This  makes  physical  consideration  and  training 
necessary  to  the  full-rounded  development  of  every 
adolescent,  not  for  the  sake  of  the  body  alone,  but 
for  the  sake  of  the  mind  and  heart  as  well. 

1  The  American  Standard  Program  for  Boys  (p.  31). 


29 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


Psychological:  The  greatest  problem  of  young 
people  is  to  find  themselves  in  the  world  of  work, 
of  social  enjoyments  and  of  daily  duties.  This  is 
not  only  a  problem  of  adjustment;  it  is  a  problem 
of  building  up  new  personalities  in  which  shall  be 
fused  all  that  is  vital  in  the  world  about  them  with 
that  which  is  unique  and  original  in  themselves, 
for  in  every  human  being  something  new,  some¬ 
thing  original,  something  individual,  is  brought 
into  the  world.  Education,  as  far  as  adolescence 
is  concerned,  is  possible  for  each  youth  only  in  so 
far  as  it  enables  him  not  merely  to  conform  to  life 
as  he  finds  it,  but  to  make  it  over  to  some  extent 
in  terms  of  himself. 

The  dominant,  outstanding  characteristic  of 
adolescence  is  individuality.  “The  normal  adoles¬ 
cent  feels  keenly  this  impulse  to  be  himself ;  to 
question  all  traditions,  all  assumptions ;  to  think 
things  out  for  himself,  whether  it  be  in  the  realm 
of  literature,  of  art,  of  religion,  of  morals,  or  of 
social  duties.  This  impulse  is  God-given,  and  it  is 
good,  even  though  he  may  find  in  the  end  that  his 
conclusions  are  not  so  very  different  from  those  of 
others  about  him;  for  it  is  through  this  impulse 
to  think  for  himself  that  he  finds  himself,  and 
proves  his  right  to  be  a  man  among  men.  ’  ’ 1 

The  basic  reason  for  the  reorganization  of  the 
secular  schools  on  the  basis  of  the  Junior-Senior 

1  King,  The  High  School  Age  (p.  95). 


30 


REORGANIZED  SECONDARY  DIVISION 


high-school  plan  is  that  they  may  contribute  in  a 
larger  way  to  the  realization  of  this  individuality, 
this  personality  in  the  life  of  maturing  boys  and 
girls. 

During  the  period  of  study  and  investigation 
carried  on  by  the  Sunday  School  Council,  looking 
toward  the  reorganization  of  the  departmental 
groupings  of  the  church’s  school,  Dr.  Wade  Craw¬ 
ford  Barclay  sent  out  a  questionnaire  to  leading 
educators  in  the  public  schools  of  this  country, 
asking  them  to  state  briefly  the  reasons  for  reor¬ 
ganizing  the  public  schools  on  the  Junior-Senior 
high-school  plan.  The  following  quotations  are 
illuminating : 

“To  take  account  of  the  changes  physiological, 
psychological  and  sociological ;  to  bridge  the  gap 
a  little  more  completely  between  childhood  and 
early  adulthood;  to  provide  an  opportunity  to  find 
oneself  in  the  multiplicity  of  interests  of  life.  ’  ’ 
—  C.  0.  Davis,  University  of  Michigan. 

“Identity,  or,  at  least,  similarity,  of  physical 
and  mental  traits;  the  consequent  desirability  of 
similar  management  and  discipline;  the  prevalence 
of  certain  common  interests  and  the  resulting 
need  of  similar  material  and  methods  of  instruc¬ 
tion  ;  greater  likelihood  of  continued  school  atten¬ 
dance  beyond  the  eighth  year,  because  the  close  of 
the  Junior  high-school  period  comes  after  the 
adolescent  has  become  accustomed  to  a  new  state 
of  development,  in  place  of  coming  just  when  the 

31 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


physiological  transition  makes  him  most  restless.  ” 
— A.  Duncan  Yocum ,  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

“  Conforms  to  the  psychological  development 
of  the  child;  makes  the  transition  from  elementary 
to  high  school  at  a  less  critical  period ;  makes 
possible  a  greater  diversity  of  work;  greater  adap¬ 
tation  to  the  needs  and  interests  of  pupils ;  facili¬ 
tates  the  development  of  the  social  consciousness; 
democratic ;  grants  equality  of  opportunity.  ’  ’ — L. 
B.  Rogers,  Lawrence  College. 

But  some  may  raise  the  question:  Are  the  rea¬ 
sons  that  have  led  to  the  formation  of  Junior- 
Senior  high  schools  reasons  that  have  application 
to  the  work  of  the  Sunday  school?  Are  they  suffi¬ 
cient  to  make  desirable  the  formation  of  separate 
departments  in  the  church’s  school  to  conform  to 
the  Junior  high  school  (seventh,  eighth  and  ninth 
grades),  and  Senior  high  school  (tenth,  eleventh, 
and  twelfth  grades)  ?  The  following  quotations, 
taken  from  the  replies  which  Dr.  Barclay  received 
to  that  question,  are  significant,  and  worthy  of 
study  and  consideration. 

“Certainly!  The  Sunday  school  must  adapt 
itself  to  the  nature  of  the  child  and  the  nature  of 
society  exactly  as  does  the  public  school.” — L.  W. 
Rapier,  Pennsylvania  State  College. 

“Yes.  The  factor  of  congenial  association  has 
greater  bearing  upon  efficient  work  in  religious 
education  than  it  has  in  secular  education.  The 
force  of  the  demand  is  more  urgent  in  the  Sunday 

32 


REORGANIZED  SECONDARY  DIVISION 


school  than  in  secular  schools.” — F.  J.  Kelly , 
University  of  Kansas. 

“Yes.  The  question  of  adolescence  determines 
emotional  maturity  as  well  as  intellectual  maturity, 
and,  in  consequence,  the  child’s  interests  and  his 
moral  religious  maturity.  Yes!  Emphatically, 
yes!” — Thomas  M.  Balliet,  New  York  University. 

“I  see  no  good  reasons  why  the  Sunday  school 
should  fail  to  recognize  itself  on  a  psychological 
basis.  The  public  school  sees  the  need  of  differ¬ 
entiation  in  content  and  methods  for  the  years 
twelve,  thirteen  and  fourteen,  which  motion  is 
based  on  psychological  grounds ;  and  if  the  psy¬ 
chology  is  well  founded,  then  it  certainly  should 
hold  for  the  Sunday  schools  as  well  as  the  public 
schools.” — William  E.  Smythe,  De  Pauw  Uni¬ 
versity. 

Of  the  forty  public-school  educators  who  re¬ 
plied  to  this  question,  thirty  held  that  the  reasons 
applied  quite  as  much  in  the  realm  of  religious 
as  of  secular  education. 

The  Junior- Senior  high-school  movement  is 
growing  rapidly  in  the  secular  school  world;  and 
large  numbers  of  cities  and  towns  that  have  not 
as  yet  adopted  the  Junior-Senior  high-school  plan 
have  departmentalized  the  work  of  the  seventh 
and  eighth  grades  so  that  pupils  twelve  and  thir¬ 
teen  years  of  age  are  grouping  together  for  study 
and  recreation.  The  public-school  grouping  deter¬ 
mines  very  largely  the  sociological  groupings  for 
3  33 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


all  those  enrolled  in  the  public  schools,  for,  as 
hoys  and  girls  group  five  days  a  week  in  the  pub¬ 
lic  schools,  they  will  tend  to  group  in  the  church’s 
school. 

Sociological:  Practically  all  the  auxiliary  or¬ 
ganizations  that  touch  the  life  of  young  people 
from  twelve  to  eighteen  years  of  age  recognize  in 
their  plan  and  program  of  work  these  two  natural 
groups,  the  organic  (12-14),  and  the  emotional 
(15-17).  The  Boys’  Work  department  of  the  Y. 
M.  C.  A.,  the  Girls’  Work  department  of  the  Y. 
W.  C.  A.,  the  Boy  Scouts  movement,  the  Camp-fire 
Girls  movement,  all  recognize  the  twelfth  year  as 
the  beginning  of  the  transitional  period  from  child¬ 
hood  to  early  adolescence,  and  admit  to  member¬ 
ship  boys  and  girls  twelve  years  of  age  and  older. 

The  playground  directors  in  cities  and  towns 
recognize  these  two  natural  groupings  (12-14)  and 
(15-17)  in  planning  their  group  games;  and  physi¬ 
cal  directors  in  the  public  schools  find  it  advanta¬ 
geous,  even  in  cities  and  towns  where  the  Junior- 
Senior  high-school  plan  is  not  in  operation,  to 
group  seventh  and  eighth  grade  pupils  together  for 
recreational  activities. 

Inasmuch  as  all  the  organizations  that  touch 
the  social  life  of  boys  and  girls  in  the  periods  of 
early  and  middle  adolescence  recognize  these 
normal  groupings,  it  seemed  the  part  of  wisdom, 
from  the  viewpoint  of  the  Young  People’s  Division 
leadership  of  the  continent,  for  the  church ’s 

34 


1 


REORGANIZED  SECONDARY  DIVISION 


school  to  conform,  so  that  sociological  groupings 
need  not  be  broken  in  the  church ’s  educational 
program. 

Religion  is  a  vital  thing.  It  touches  the  whole 
of  life  or  it  touches  none  of  life,  for  there  is  no 
phase  or  interest  of  boy  and  girl  life  that  lies 
outside  the  reach  of  the  church  in  kingdom-build¬ 
ing.  The  church  in  its  outreach  into  the  life  of 
youth  touches  all  life  situations,  physical,  intellec¬ 
tual  and  social,  as  well  as  religious.  It  must  take 
into  account  the  three  great  passions  of  youth — 
work,  play  and  love — and  build  its  program  in  such 
a  way  that  it  will  give  young  people  something  to 
do,  something  to  think  about,  something  to  enjoy, 
something  that  will  enable  them  to  give  themselves 
in  service.  It  must  co-operate  with  every  other 
agency  that  is  at  work  for  the  physical,  mental, 
moral  and  religious  uplift  of  boys  and  girls;  and, 
in  order  to  do  this  in  the  best  way,  it  must  con¬ 
form,  as  far  as  sociological  groupings  are  con¬ 
cerned,  to  those  adopted  by  other  agencies  that  are 
at  work  in  the  life  of  young  people.  The  new 
groupings  make  it  possible  for  the  church’s  school 
to  co-operate  in  the  fullest  way  with  all  other 
auxiliary  organizations  that  are  working  for  the 
social  betterment  of  young  people. 

General  Principles. 

Quite  as  important  as,  if  not  more  important 
than,  the  regrouping  of  the  Young  People's 

35 


j 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


Division,  is  the  statement  of  general  principles 
that  must  underlie  all  work  with  young  people. 
For  it  is  on  the  basis  of  this  statement  of  princi¬ 
ples,  together  with  the  more  scientific  grouping, 
that  we  are  to  realize  the  highest  moral  and 
spiritual  development  in  the  life  of  the  youth  of 
the  church. 

The  general  aim  in  all  work  with  young  people 
in  the  church  is  to  produce,  through  worship,  in¬ 
struction  and  training,  the  highest  type  of  Chris¬ 
tian  manhood  and  womanhood,  expressing  itself 
in  right  living  and  efficient  serving.1  As  over 
against  this  aim,  let  us  face  squarely  the  existing 
conditions. 

The  most  outstanding  need  on  the  part  of  the 
youth  of  the  church  to-day  is  for  the  unification 
and  correlation  of  all  the  organizations  that  are 
at  work  with  young  people  in  our  modern  church 
life.  More  and  more  as  one  goes  in  and  out  among 
the  churches  is  he  made  to  feel  this  need;  for  it 
is  not  and  uncommon  thing  to  find  anywhere  from 
six  to  a  dozen  organizations,  all  clamoring  for  the 
loyalty  and  support  of  the  same  group  of  young 
people.  The  author  has  in  her  possession,  clipped 
from  the  church  bulletin  of  one  of  the  largest 
churches  in  the  State  of  Indiana,  an  announcement 
of  twenty  different  meetings,  within  a  given  month, 
of  twenty  different  organizations,  all  of  them  at 

1  1917  Minutes  of  the  Sunday  School  Council  of  Evangelical  De¬ 
nominations  (p.  45). 


36 


REORGANIZED  SECONDARY  DIVISION 


1 


work  with  young  people  between  the  ages  of  thir¬ 
teen  and  thirty  years.  No  wonder  that  the  aver¬ 
age  young  person  has  no  church  conscience!  The 
building  of  a  church  conscience  is  an  absolute  im¬ 
possibility  under  conditions  like  that. 

Young  people  are  being  literally  pulled  to 
pieces  by  the  numerous  appeals  for  membership 
and  service  that  come  to  them  from  all  the  different 
organizations  that  are  attempting  to  do  work  with 
young  people  in  the  local  church.  At  the  present 
time,  with  all  the  multiplicity  of  organizations,  we 
have  in  our  churches  groups  of  young  people  with 
a  smattering  of  information  in  regard  to  the  Bible, 
a  smattering  of  information  in  regard  to  missions, 
a  smattering  of  training  in  the  culture  of  the 
devotional  life;  but  not  a  single  group  anywhere 
that  has  an  adequate  knowledge  of  the  world  task 
and  world  program  of  the  church.  Through  the 
very  multiplicity  of  organizations,  each  stressing 
some  particular  phase  of  the  church ’s  activity, 
we  are  producing  groups  of  young  people  that  are 
intellectual  snobs.  They  are  a  mile  high  on  some 
subjects  and  an  inch  wide  on  others.  They  are 
as  sharp  as  the  point  of  a  cambric  needle  on  some 
particular  phase  of  church  work,  and  as  ignorant 
as  the  heathen  on  every  other  phase  of  the  church’s 
world  program. 

The  youth  of  the  church  need  a  unified  and 
correlated  program  of  Christian  education  in 
which  impression  and  expression  are  not  separated 

37 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


as  they  are  now,  when  one  organization  is  attempt¬ 
ing  to  teach,  while  other  organizations  train  for 
service.  Teaching  and  training  go  hand  in  hand. 
They  may  not  be  separated.  You  can  not  teach 
without  training,  and  you  can  not  train  without 
teaching.  Impression  plus  expression  is  the  eduea>- 
tive  process. 

When  we  shall  come  to  have  one  organization 
by  which  and  through  which  each  natural  group 
of  young  people  shall  be  trained  both  to  know  and 
to  do  the  whole  will  of  God,  then,  and  then  only, 
will  we  have  groups  of  young  people  who  see  the 
whole  task  of  the  church  in  its  program  of  world 
redemption. 

The  new  standards  for  grading  and  grouping 
adolescent  boys  and  girls  not  only  recognize  the 
organic,  emotional  and  intellectual  needs  of  adoles¬ 
cence  ;  conform  as  far  as  the  periods  of  early 
and  middle  adolescence  are  concerned,  with  the 
Junior-Senior  high-school  plan ;  but  make  it  possi¬ 
ble  for  the  first  time  to  organize  the  youth  of  the 
church  for  adequate  Christian  service.  The  stand¬ 
ards  as  approvel  by  the  Sunday  School  Council 
face  squarely  this  problem  of  a  divided  interest,  a 
divided  energy,  a  divided  loyalty,  and  the  tre¬ 
mendous  loss  resulting  from  it;  and  suggest  the 
following  plan  by  which  we  may  unify  overlap¬ 
ping  organizations  and  correlate  the  program  of 
worship,  instruction  and  expression  for  each 
normal  group : 


38 


REORGANIZED  SECONDARY  DIVISION 


“That  the  ideal  (goal  toward  which  we  should 
work)  is  one  inclusive  organization  in  the  local 
church  for  each  normal  group  of  adolescents — 
Intermediate,  Senior  and  Young  People.  That 
each  of  these  organizations  should  provide  all  the 
necessary  worship,  instruction  and  training  through 
departments  made  up  of  classes,  the  classes  to  be 
organized  for  specific  tasks  and  individual  and 
group  training ;  the  departments  organized  for 
group  activities  and  for  the  cultivation  of  the 
devotional  life  through  prayer,  praise,  testimony, 
and  other  forms  of  self-expression. 

‘  ‘  That  in  churches  where  there  already  exist 
a  Sunday  school,  young  people’s  societies,  and 
other  organizations  for  adolescents,  the  work  of 
these  organizations  be  correlated  in  such  a  way  as 
to  be  complemental,  not  conflicting  and  competing. 

“For  this  purpose  there  should  be  in  each 
group  a  committee  composed  of  the  presidents  and 
teachers  of  classes,  the  officers  of  the  various  or¬ 
ganizations  involved,  the  pastor  and  any  advisory 
officers  appointed  by  the  local  church.  These  com¬ 
mittees,  in  conference  with  those  charged  with  the 
work  of  religious  education  in  the  local  church,  to 
determine  the  program  of  study  and  activities,  in 
order  to  prevent  overlapping  and  duplication  of 
effort. 

“That  the  program  of  study  and  activities  for 
adolescence  be  such  as  to  develop  them  on  all  sides 
of  their  nature — physical,  intellectual,  social  and 

39 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


religious.  It  should  include  Bible  study  and  cor¬ 
related  subjects,  the  cultivation  of  the-  devotional 
life,  training  for  leadership,  and  service  through 
stewardship,  recreation,  community  work,  citizen¬ 
ship,  evangelism  and  missions.  ’  ’ 1 

TEACHING  OUTLINE. 

The  (<Why)’  of  the  Reorganized  Young  People’s  Division. 

1.  History  of  growth  and  development  of  the  Sunday 
school. 

(1)  Unorganized  Sunday  schools,  prior  to  1900. 

(2)  Growth  of  the  “graded  ideal”  from  1902-1908. 

2.  Leakage  in  the  upper  teens. 

(1)  Organization  of  “Advanced  Division”  to  rank 
with  Elementary  and  Adult,  in  1910. 

(2)  Change  of  name  from  “Advanced”  to  “Secon¬ 
dary,”  in  1911. 

(3)  Calling  of  a  Secondary  Division  superintendent  by 
International  Sunday  School  Association  in  1912. 

3.  Organization  of  the  Sunday-school  Council  of  Evan¬ 
gelical  Denominations,  1910. 

(1)  Agreement  in  regard  to  local  school  standards  in 
1913. 

(2)  A  re-study  of  whole  matter  of  standards  and  pro¬ 
grams  for  adolescence  by  the  Young  People’s 
Work  Committee  of  the  Council  from  1914-1917. 

4.  Previous  attempts  to  solve  the  teen-age  problem. 

(1)  Experimentation  from  1912-1917,  with  at  least 
three  forms  of  departmental  organization  for  the 
years  13-20. 

(a)  Intermediate  (13-16  years).  Senior  (17- 
20  years). 

1  1917  Minutes  of  the  Sunday  School  Council  of  Evangelical  De¬ 
nominations  (pp.  46,  47). 


40 


REORGANIZED  SECONDARY  DIVISION 


(b)  Separate  teen-age  boys*  and  girls’  depart¬ 
ments. 

(c)  Combined  teen-age  boys’  and  girls’  or 
high-school  departments. 

(2)  General  dissatisfaction  with  all  three  of  these 
plans. 

5.  The  contribution  of  educators  to  the  problem: 

(1)  Three  epochs  of  life — childhood,  youth,  maturity — 
each  of  which  has  clearly  marked  periods  of  devel¬ 
opment. 

(2)  Adolescence  (youth) — a  ten  or  twelve  year  period 
with  three,  not  two,  marked  stages  : 

(a)  Early  adolescence,  12-14  years. 

(b)  Middle  adolescence,  15-17  years. 

(c)  Later  adolescence,  18-24  years. 

6.  Secular  education  in  its  plan  and  program  of  educa¬ 
tion  takes  these  life  epochs  and  periods  into  account: 

(1)  Elementary  schools: 

(a)  Kindergartens. 

(b)  Elementary  grades. 

(c)  Grammar  grades. 

(2)  Secondary  schools: 

(a)  Junior  high  schools. 

(b)  Senior  high  schools. 

(c)  Colleges. 

(3)  Advanced  schools: 

(a)  Specialized  schools. 

(b)  Postgraduate  work. 

Young  People’s  Division  as  at  Present  Organized. 

1.  Scope  of  the  division  (ages  12-24  approximately). 

2.  Departmental  groupings: 

(1)  Eor  the  large  school: 

(a)  Intermediate  (ages  12-14  approximately.) 

(b)  Senior  (ages  15-17  approximately). 

(c)  Young  People  (ages  18-24  approximately). 

41 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


(2)  For  the  medium-sized  school: 

(a)  Intermediate-Senior  or  High-school  boys’ 
and  girls’  department  (ages  12-17  approx¬ 
imately). 

(b)  Young  People  (ages  18-24  approximately), 

(c)  Or,  Intermediate  (12-14  approximately). 

(d)  Young  People’s  (15-24  approximately). 

(3)  For  the  small  school: 

(a)  Young  People’s  department  (ages  12-24 
approximately),  recognizing,  in  the  class 
groupings,  the  periods  of  early,  middle  and 
later  adolescence. 

Beasons  for  the  Begrouping. 

1.  Physiological: 

(1)  Term  “adolescence”  means  growing,  developing. 

(2)  Three,  not  two,  marked  stages  of  growth: 

(a)  Organic  (12-14  years). 

(b)  Emotional  (15-17  years). 

(c)  Intellectual  (18-24  years). 

(3)  Far-reaching  significance  of  sexual  ripening. 

(4)  Basis  of  all  development  is  “physical.” 

2.  Psychological: 

(1)  Building  up  of  new  personalities. 

(2)  Problem  of  finding  themselves  in  the  new  world 
into  which  they  are  reborn. 

(3)  To  contribute  to  the  outstanding  characteristic  of 
adolescence — individuality — to  help  in  the  realiza¬ 
tion  of  this  selfhood. 

3.  Sociological: 

(1)  All  auxiliary  organizations — Boy  Scouts,  Camp¬ 
fire  Girls,  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  Playground 
Associations  and  Juvenile  or  Delinquent  Courts — 
reorganize,  in  plan  and  program  of  development, 
these  three  stages  or  periods  of  adolescence. 

42 


REORGANIZED  SECONDARY  DIVISION 


General  Principles. 

1.  A  clearly  defined  aim  or  goal  essential  to  successful 
work  with  young  people. 

2.  Recognizing  the  scope  of  from  twelve  to  twenty-four 
approximately  as  a  natural  life  epoch,  and  the  taking  of  the 
whole  scope  into  account  in  planning  a  program  of  develop¬ 
ment. 

3.  A  correlated  program  of  Christian  education  for  the 
youth  of  the  church. 

(1)  The  church  the  center. 

(2)  One  inclusive  organization  for  each  natural  group 
in  the  local  church. 

(a)  Departments  made  up  of  classes,  the  de¬ 
partment  to  be  organized  for  group  activi¬ 
ties  and  for  cultivation  of  devotional  life 
through  prayer,  praise,  testimony  and 
other  forms  of  self-expression. 

(b)  The  classes  to  be  organized  for  specific 
tasks  and  individual  and  group  training. 

(3)  A  correlating  committee  in  churches  where  there 
already  exists  a  Sunday  school,  young  people ’s  so¬ 
cieties  and  other  organizations,  for  adolescence. 

(a)  Committed  to  the  task  of  working  out 
a  correlated  program  of  Christian  educa¬ 
tion  for  the  youth  of  the  church. 

4.  A  fourfold  program  of  study  and  activities  that  will 
develop  young  people  on  all  sides  of  their  nature — physical, 
intellectual,  social  and  religious. 

(1)  Program  to  include: 

(a)  Bible  study  and  correlated  subjects. 

(b)  Cultivation  of  devotional  life. 

(c)  Training  for  leadership. 

(d)  Service  through  stewardship,  recreation, 
community  work,  citizenship,  evangelism 
and  missions. 

43 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


QUESTIONS  FOR  STUDY  AND  DISCUSSION. 

1.  Give  five  things  that  led  to  the  reorganization  of  the 
Young  People’s  Division? 

2.  Discuss  the  Young  People’s  Division  as  at  present 
organized. 

3.  Give  the  physiological,  psychological  and  sociological 
reasons  for  the  regrouping  of  young  people. 

4.  Give  the  aim  of  Christian  education. 

5.  Name  four  general  principles  that  should  guide  in 
working  out  a  program  of  Christian  education  for  the  youth 
of  the  church. 


44 


II 

THE  INTERMEDIATE  DEPARTMENT 

WE  are  to  consider  in  this  chapter  the  Inter¬ 
mediate  department  (ages  twelve  to  fourteen 
approximately) — its  pupils,  aims,  organization, 
program,  equipment  and  standards. 

Intermediate  Pupils. 

The  twelfth  birthday  marks,  in  a  general  way, 
the  door  through  which  boys  and  girls  pass  from  the 
period  of  childhood  into  the  period  of  adolescence, 
to  emerge  some  ten  or  twelve  years  later  into  the 
maturity  of  adulthood. 

Physically  the  years  from  twelve  to  fourteen 
are  characterized  by  a  remarkable  physical  growth. 
The  heart  enlarges,  the  bones  lengthen,  the  shoul¬ 
ders  broaden,  the  muscles  solidify,  and  the  organs 
of  reproduction  come  to  maturity,  for  it  is  in 
these  years  that  God  takes  the  boy  and  girl  into 
partnership  with  Himself  in  the  perpetuation  of 
the  human  race.  The  functioning  of  the  sex  organs 
is  physical,  but  its  effects  are  nearly  always  ac¬ 
companied  by  mental,  emotional  and  spiritual  up¬ 
heavals.  Uneven  growth,  awkwardness,  erratic 

45 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


temperament,  loud  and  boisterous  conduct,  are  the 
outward  manifestations  of  this  inward  growth  and 
development.  There  is  more  blood  in  the  body 
during  these  years  than  there  has  been  before,  and 
it  is  a  degree  warmer  in  temperature.  No  wonder 
Dr.  Lowry,  in  speaking  of  girls  in  this  period, 
said :  ‘  ‘  God  bless  the  tomboys ;  I  wish  there  were 
more  of  them.  ’  ’ 1  What  does  he  mean  ?  Simply 
this:  that  the  tomboy  girl,  who  through  her  stren¬ 
uous  exercise  keeps  this  rich,  red  blood  surging 
through  veins  and  arteries,  is  far  less  likely  to 
temptation  than  the  quiet  type  of  girl  who  sits  all 
day  long  curled  up  in  a  corner  with  a  book  in  her 
hands.  Plenty  of  good,  wholesome  physical  exer¬ 
cise  is  imperative  in  the  early  teens,  if  the  mind 
and  heart  are  to  be  kept  clean  and  pure  and  whole¬ 
some.  Wise  indeed  is  the  Sunday-school  teacher 
who  uses  the  through-the-week  meetings  of  the 
class  to  minister  to  this  need  for  directed  physical 
recreation. 

Intellectually  this  period  is  often  the  exact 
counterpart  of  the  physical  life,  for  the  same 
erratic  tendencies  are  manifest.  The  body  seems 
to  grow  at  the  expense  of  the  brain,  or  the  brain 
at  the  expense  of  the  body.  The  ability  to  stick 
to  one  thing  is  not  a  marked  characteristic.  The 
interests  of  life  are  broadening  with  such  rapidity 
and  in  so  many  different  ways  that  there  seems  not 

1  Herself  (p.  133). 


46 


Frank  L.  Smith,  Architect,  Lexington,  Kentucky. 

In  Plan  XIV.  there  is  shown  a  good  combination  for  convenience 
and  economy.  The  Beginners,  Primaries  and  Juniors  have  their 
own  department  rooms,  so  that  they  may  conduct  worship  without 
disturbing  the  other  departments.  The  Intermediates  are  provided 
with  rooms  which  have  solid  walls,  as  the  classroom  seems  to  be  of 
paramount  importance  at  this  age.  This  type  of  building  would 
easily  care  for  a  school  enrolling  two  hundred  and  fifty. 


*  P.  E.  Burroughs,  Church  and  Sunday  School  Buildings  (p.  59). 

47 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


enough  either  of  time  or  of  energy  to  see  and  do 
all  the  things  that  are  clamoring  for  attention. 

It  is  a  period  of  individuation  resulting  from 
the  new  self-assertion,  the  new  independence,  the 
new  consciousness  of  self.  As  a  result,  authority  for 
the  first  time  is  questioned.  Boys  and  girls  now 
begin  to  look  upon  themselves  as  of  some  value  to 
society.  Their  deeds  are  worth  something,  their 
individual  opinions  are  of  value,  their  conclusions 
are  worthy  of  consideration.  Why,  then,  should 
they  submit  without  a  question  to  the  authority 
of  others? 

The  chief  mental  characteristic  of  this  period 
has  been  termed  by  Miss  Slattery  as  longing.  Boys 
and  girls  live  two  lives — the  one  visible,  in  which 
they  perform  the  ordinary  duties  and  responsibil¬ 
ities  of  every-day  life ;  the  other  life  is  out  there 
in  the  land  of  dreams,  where  the  boy  or  girl  is  the 
center  of  things,  doing  great  deeds  in  the  world  of 
achievement.  It  is  out  of  this  longing,  perhaps, 
that  the  insatiable  appetite  for  reading  grows,  for 
this  is  the  period  when  the  reading  craze  is  at  its 
height.  What  a  splendid  opportunity  is  here 
afforded  the  Sunday-school  teacher,  for  it  is  a  well- 
known  fact  that  the  “book  friendships”  of  the 
early  teens  are  but  a  degree  less  potential  in  their 
influence  on  life  than  personal  friendships,  and 
they  are  often  more  lasting. 

Socially  the  years  from  twelve  to  fourteen  are 

characterized  by  the  awakening  of  the  social  in- 

48 


Intermediate  Department,  Central  Christian  Church,  Indianapolis,  Ind. 


THE  INTERMEDIATE  DEPARTMENT 


stincts.  This  may  he  seen,  not  only  in  the  gangs 
and  teams  that  are  organized  for  outdoor  sports, 
but  in  the  classes  and  clubs,  the  cliques  and  sets 
that  are  organized  under  almost  every  conceivable 
condition  and  for  almost  every  thinkable  purpose. 
Boys  and  girls  in  this  period  do  very  little  alone. 
They  just  naturally  attach  themselves  to  other 
young  people.  A  strong  personality  will  attract 
others  to  itself.  At  first  the  sexes  draw  apart, 
but  toward  the  end  of  the  period  they  begin  to  get 
together.  Prom  the  fifteenth  year  on  they  mingle 
naturally  and  normally  in  one  another’s  society. 
The  high  tide  of  interest  in  organizations,  as  ex¬ 
pressed  in  groups  and  gangs,  comes  at  about  the 
middle  of  the  thirteenth  year.  A  study  of  the, 
periods  of  early  and  middle  adolescence  shows  that 
86  per  cent,  of  the  purely  voluntary  organizations 
are  to  be  found  in  the  years  from  twelve  to  four¬ 
teen,  and  that  82  per  cent,  of  all  organizations 
formed  within  this  period  are  for  physical  activ¬ 
ities,  indicating  that  the  demand  for  physical  ex¬ 
pression  is  easily  dominant.  The  organized  Inter¬ 
mediate  department,  and  the  organization  of  each 
class  within  the  department,  afford  a  splendid 
opportunity  to  satisfy  this  need  for  organized 
activity. 

Religiously  this  period  is  of  unusual  importance, 
since  so  large  a  number  of  boys  and  girls  unite  with 
the  church  during  these  years.  Mere  forms  of  re¬ 
ligion — the  religion  of  childhood  is  very  largely 
4  49 


i 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


a  matter  of  custom  and  habit — now  lose  their 
attractiveness,  and  youth  begins  to  seek  the  inner 
spiritual  meaning  behind  these  outward  forms. 
“With  the  birth  of  a  new  self-consciousness,  there 
comes  also  the  birth  of  the  new  consciousness  of 
God  and  of  things  religious.  ”  Intermediate  boys 
and  girls  are  deeply  and  truly  religious.  They  are 
often  boisterous,  impulsive,  impatient  of  restraint, 
apparently  unresponsive,  and  yet  within  them  is 
the  grace  of  God.  Their  religion  is  not  the  religion 
of  maturity.  “It  has  the  same  boundless  energy 
and  enthusiasm  of  all  the  other  interests  of  these 
years.  It  is  a  religion  of  deeds ,  not  words.”  It 
does  not  normally  express  itself  in  the  form  of 
testimony  meetings;  the  testimonies  of  hoys  and 
girls  manifest  themselves  in  deeds  of  love  and 
devotion.  Opportunities,  therefore,  for  expression 
that  lie  within  the  range  of  the  interests  and  abil¬ 
ities  of  pupils  must  be  given  if  they  are  to  grow 
in  grace  and  in  favor  with  God  and  man. 

Department  Aims. 

In  order  that  we  may  he  clearly  conscious  of 
the  ultimate  goal  of  all  work  with  Intermediate 
pupils,  it  is  essential  to  have  not  only  a  clearly 
defined  aim  or  goal  for  the  educational  work  of  the 
church,  but  for  each  department — the  department 
aim  to  serve  as  a  stepping-stone  in  the  realization 
of  the  ultimate  aim.  Briefly  expressed,  the  educa¬ 
tional  aim  of  the  church  through  its  church  school 

50 


THE  INTERMEDIATE  DEPARTMENT 


is  to  “produce,  through  worship,  instruction  and 
training,  the  highest  type  of  Christian  manhood 
and  womanhood  expressing  itself  in  right  living 
and  efficient  service.  It  is  well,  therefore,  in  the 
very  beginning  of  our  consideration  of  the  work  of 
the  Intermediate  department,  to  ask,  What  is  the 
aim  of  this  department  with  relation  to  the  larger 
educational  aim  of  the  church  through  its  church 
school? — that  there  may  be  a  clearly  defined  goal 
toward  which  the  work  of  the  department  may 
progress. 

Of  necessity  the  answer  to  this  question  must 
grow  out  of  the  life  needs  of  the  pupils,  for  they 
are  the  plastic  clay  which  we  must  mold  into  men 
and  women  whose  chief  passion  and  purpose  shall 
be  the  building  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  Viewed 
from  the  life  needs  of  boys  and  girls,  and  the 
growth  of  the  kingdom,  the  aims  of  the  Inter¬ 
mediate  department  may  be  briefly  summarized  as 
follows : 

1.  To  secure  the  acceptance  of  Jesus  Christ  as 
a  personal  Saviour  and  Lord.  The  studies  of  Coe 
and  Starbuck  show  that  this  period  is  the  period 
of  the  first  religious  awakening.  The  aim  of  the 
department,  therefore,  should  he  to  win  each  life 
for  God  at  the  very  beginning  of  this  first  religious 
awakening. 

2.  To  cultivate  an  ever-increasing  knowledge  of 
Christian  ideals  and  of  the  Bible  as  the  source  of 
these  ideals. 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


3.  To  secure  on  the  part  of  boys  and  girls  a 
personal  acceptance  and  open  acknowledgment  of 
these  ideals  in  their  daily  life,  through  Bible 
study,  prayer,  Christian  conduct,  recreation  and 
service. 

4.  To  awaken  in  boys  and  girls  a  growing  appre¬ 
ciation  of  the  privilege  and  opportunities  of 
church  membership,  that  they  may  come  to  have  a 
deep  and  genuine  reverence  for  the  Lord’s  day 
and  the  Lord’s  house. 

5.  To  secure  an  all-round  development  through 
the  cultivation  of  the  social  consciousness  and  the 
expression  of  the  physical,  intellectual,  social  and 
religious  life  in  service  for  others.1 

6.  A  knowledge  of  Christian  principles  in  choos¬ 
ing  a  life-work  or  vocation. 

At  least  once  a  year  the  department  counselor 
(superintendent)  and  teachers  should  check  up  the 
work  that  is  being  done  in  the  department,  to  see 
how  largely  these  results  are  being  accomplished 
in  the  lives  of  individual  pupils. 

Organization. 

To  meet  the  social  and  group  instincts  of  adoles¬ 
cence  many  types  of  organization  have  been  tried 
with  varying  results.  Of  them  all,  the  organized 
department  with  its  organized  classes  is  the  most 
acceptable.  A  fully  organized  department  for 

1  1917  Minutes  of  the  Sunday  School  Council  of  Evangelical  De¬ 
nominations  (p.  45). 


52 


THE  INTERMEDIATE  DEPARTMENT 


both.  Intermediate  (12-14)  and  Senior  (15-17) 
pupils  is  not  always  possible  because  of  the  small¬ 
ness  of  the  group  or  the  architectural  inadequacy 
of  the  church  building.  In  such  churches  it  may 
be  advisable  to  combine  in  a  boys’  and  girls’  (or 
high  school)  department  all  the  pupils  from  twelve 
or  thirteen  to  seventeen  years  of  age.  Better  re¬ 
sults  will  be  obtained,  however,  if  pupils  in  the 
periods  of  early  and  middle  adolescence  can  be 
grouped  in  two  different  departments. 

The  simplest  form  of  organization  is  to  be 
desired  for  this  department  because  of  its  flexibility 
and  ease  of  operation.  Three  or  four  officers,  a 
few  standing  committees  and  many  short-lived 
ones,  each  with  its  specific  duty  to  perform,  are 
preferable  to  a  more  elaborate  organization.  A 
half-year  term  of  office,  with  the  possibility  of  but 
two  terms  in  succession,  will  bring  more  pupils 
into  official  relation  with  the  department  and  act 
as  a  stimulus  to  a  progressive  program.  The  more 
pupils  who  have  a  chance  to  be  trained  in  action, 
the  stronger  the  life  of  the  department  will  become, 
and  the  greater  the  interest  the  young  people  them¬ 
selves  will  have  in  the  department.  The  diagram  on 
page  65  suggests  a  simple  form  of  departmental 
organization  that  may  be  adapted  to  meet  the  needs 
of  any  group  of  young  people  in  the  local  church. 
If  desired,  a  constitution  may  be  formulated  and 
adopted  and  a  department  motto,  song  and  pennant 
selected. 


53 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


Where  the  building  permits,  there  should  be  a 
separate  departmental  assembly-room,  providing 
opportunity  for  both  training  and  expression  in 
worship  under  normal  conditions,  when  the  imma¬ 
ture  are  meeting  alone  with  none  to  observe  except 
their  teacher  friends  and  the  department  counselor. 
The  president  should  preside  over  all  meetings  of 
the  department,  under  the  direction  of  the  coun¬ 
selor,  unless  that  work  has  been  delegated  for  the 
day  to  some  other  person  or  group.  If  the  depart¬ 
ment  session  of  the  church  school  is  one  hour  in 
length,  twenty  minutes  should  be  given  to  the  wor¬ 
ship  program,  and  forty  minutes  to  the  class  period. 
If  an  hour  and  a  quarter  is  used,  thirty  minutes 
may  be  given  to  the  worship  service  and  the  re¬ 
mainder  of  the  time  to  the  teaching  period,  or  a 
brief  closing  service  of  this  department  with  the 
Senior  and  Young  People’s  departments  may  be 
held,  thus  making  it  possible  for  the  entire  division 
to  be  together  for  a  brief  service.  If  the  arrange¬ 
ment  of  the  church  building  does  not  permit  of 
department  assemblies,  the  worship  service  of  the 
Intermediate  group  may  be  combined  with  that  of 
the  older  departments.  Where  such  adjustments 
must  be  made,  however,  responsibility  for  conduct¬ 
ing  the  worship  service  from  week  to  week,  or 
month  to  month,  may  profitably  be  rotated  among 
the  various  departments  combined,  thus  affording 
some  opportunity  for  grading  the  worship,  and  for 

54 


THE  INTERMEDIATE  DEPARTMENT 


the  development  of  initiative  and  leadership  on  the 
part  of  each  normal  group. 

In  addition  to  the  church  school’s  session  of  this 
department,  there  may  be  a  meeting  on  Sunday 
afternoon  or  evening.  The  Christian  Endeavor 
topics  and  correlated  temperance  and  missionary 
instruction  should  be  made  the  basis  of  study  and 
worship  for  these  meetings,  just  as  graded  lessons 
are  made  the  basis  of  the  church  school’s  program. 
Other  through-the-week  meetings  of  the  depart¬ 
ment  should  be  planned  from  time  to  time,  for  the 
expression  of  the  physical,  intellectual,  social  and 
religious  life  of  boys  and  girls.  See  Chapters 
VI.  and  IX.  for  plans  and  materials. 

Correlation. 

In  churches  where  there  already  exist  a  depart¬ 
mental  Sunday  school  and  one  or  more  societies  of 
Christian  Endeavor,  each  attempting  to  build  a 
program  for  the  religious  training  of  young  people, 
there  is  always  more  or  less  of  overlapping  both 
in  organizations  and  activities.  In  order  to  avoid 
this  duplication  and  to  provide  an  adequate  pro¬ 
gram  of  Christian  education  for  young  people,  the 
leadership  of  these  organizations  should  be  unified 
and  the  program  of  worship,  instruction  and  train¬ 
ing  correlated.  All  that  is  necessary  to  bring  this 
much-desired  result  to  pass  is  for  the  two  organ¬ 
izations  of  corresponding  ages  to  agree  upon  a  joint 
nominating  committee  composed  of  two  representa- 

55 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


tives  from  the  Intermediate  department  of  the 
Sunday  school  and  two  from  the  Intermediate 
Society  of  Christian  Endeavor ;  these  four,  with 
the  pastor  or  department  counselor,  to  constitute 
the  nominating  committee  to  select  the  joint  officers 
for  the  unified  organization.  The  committee  (such 
as  are  necessary  both  in  the  Sunday  school  and 
Christian  Endeavor)  may  then  be  appointed  by  the 
jointly  elected  president  in  consultation  with  the 
department  counselor. 

Of  course  there  will  be  problems  to  meet  in  any 
effort  that  may  be  made  to  bring  order  out  of  the 
chaos  of  over-organization  which  abounds  in  the 
average  church.  The  author,  however,  has  found 
no  problem  that  could  not  be  successfully  solved; 
and  the  increased  activity  which  results  from  re¬ 
ducing  the  over-organization  to  a  minimum  more 
than  pays  for  the  time  and  energy  it  takes  to  face 
squarely  the  problems  that  arise. 

The  questions  of  what  to  do  with  the  Christian 
Endeavor  pledge  and  monthly  dues  are  both  prob¬ 
lems  that  will  need  to  be  dealt  with  almost  im¬ 
mediately.  In  many  churches  where  a  unified  and 
correlated  program  of  Christian  education  is  being 
worked  out,  the  Christian  Endeavor  pledge  is  not 
being  made  the  basis  of  membership  as  heretofore, 
but  is  becoming  one  of  the  goals  of  the  department, 
just  as  the  Quiet  Hour  and  Tenth  Legion  cove¬ 
nants  are  goals  toward  which  young  people  are 
encouraged  to  strive.  The  author  feels  that  this 

56 


THE  INTERMEDIATE  DEPARTMENT 


ought  to  be  encouraged  even  in  churches  not  yet 
attempting  to  correlate  their  educational  program, 
for  the  Christian  Endeavor  pledge  is  a  covenant , 
and,  if  taken  at  all,  it  ought  to  be  thoughtfully 
and  prayerfully  signed,  not  lightly,  just  because 
young  people  feel  that  they  must  sign  it  in  order 
“to  belong.” 

The  monthly  dues  may  be  done  away  with  en¬ 
tirely  and  a  once-a-month  self-denial  offering  sub¬ 
stituted.  In  churches  where  the  duplex-envelope 
system  is  being  used  in  the  educational  work  of 
the  church  school,  the  budget  for  each  department 
(Intermediate,  Senior  and  Young  People’s)  may 
include  an  annual  offering  to  State  and  denomi¬ 
national  Christian  Endeavor  work,  thus  making  it 
possible  for  each  group  of  young  people  to  have 
fellowship  in  both  the  denominational  and  inter¬ 
denominational  program  promoted  by  the  Christian 
Endeavor  movement. 

The  Program. 

All  educators  are  agreed  in  thinking  that  any 
complete  program  of  religious  education  should  in¬ 
clude  the  three  factors — worship,  instruction  and 
expression. 

Worship  programs  for  the  Intermediate  de¬ 
partment  should  provide  opportunity  for  both  train¬ 
ing  and  participation  in  worship.  This  may  be  ac¬ 
complished  by  making  individual  pupils  responsible 
for  contributing  most  of  the  elements  in  the  pro- 

57 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


gram,  and  by  placing  the  responsibility  for  con¬ 
ducting  worship  services  in  the  hands  of  the  officers 
and  committees  of  the  department.  The  programs 
should  be  builded  around  themes  that  have  a  more 
or  less  universal  appeal,  and  all  the  elements  in  the 
program  should  be  so  correlated  as  to  fit  naturally 
and  normally  into  the  service.  See  Chapter  VII. 
for  suggested  programs  and  materials. 

The  course  of  study  for  Intermediate  pupils 
should  be  graded  according  to  their  needs  and  hater- 
ests.  The  International  Graded  Lessons  provide, 
perhaps,  the  best  course  of  graded  instruction  that 
has  as  yet  been  offered  to  the  church ’s  school.  They 
are  practical,  progressive,  Biblical  and  evangelis¬ 
tic;  and  are  so  planned  as  to  meet  the  spiritual 
needs  of  the  pupil  at  each  stage  of  his  development. 

Intermediate  pupils  are  lively,  active,  quick  of 
impulse  and  quicker  of  deed.  They  are  outspoken, 
fearless,  and  scorn  weakness  of  any  kind.  They 
are  deeply  conscious  of  their  own  individuality  and 
are  ardent  hero-worshipers.  Their  admiration  for 
the  daring  and  adventuresome  is  abundantly  grati¬ 
fied  by  the  stirring  Old  and  New  Testament  hero 
studies  provided  for  twelve,  thirteen  and  fourteen 
year  old  pupils.  The  lessons  for  twelve-year-old 
pupils  consist  of  six  months’  study  of  the  life  of 
Christ  as  given  in  the  Gospel  of  Mark,  three  months 
of  studies  in  Acts,  eight  lessons  in  the  study  of 
the  theme  “ Winning  Others  for  God,”  and  five  les¬ 
sons  in  the  study  of  “The  Bible  the  Word  of  God.” 

58 


THE  INTERMEDIATE  DEPARTMENT 


The  lessons  for  thirteen  and  fourteen  year  old 
pupils  consist  of  biographical  studies  of  Old  and 
New  Testament  characters,  and  of  modern  mission¬ 
aries  whose  lives  have  been  inspired  to  a  like  faith 
and  work. 

In  the  smaller  schools  where  there  are  but  one 
or  two  classes  of  Intermediate  age,  the  Depart¬ 
mentalized  Graded  Lessons  may  be  used,  or  the 
three-year  cycle  plan  for  the  use  of  the  closely 
graded  lessons  may  be  followed.  Pages  7  and  8 
of  the  ‘ ‘Workers’  Manual”1  give  this  cycle  plan 
in  detail. 

The  expressional  activities  of  this  department 
should  be  under  the  direction  of  and  related  to 
the  Executive  Committee  (or  Council),  and  pro¬ 
vision  should  be  made  so  that  all  worship  and  in¬ 
struction  issue  in  service  in  the  home,  church, 
community  and  world.  This  department  should 
have  not  only  a  graded  course  of  study,  but  a 
graded  program  of  activities  along  physical,  intel¬ 
lectual,  social  and  service  lines  that  will  touch 
every  phase  and  interest  of  boy  and  girl  life.  It 
is  not  possible  in  this  chapter  to  set  forth  such  a 
program,  but  the  department  counselor  and  teachers 
will  find  in  “Graded  Social  Service  in  the  Sunday 
School,”  by  Hutchins,  and  the  “Missionary  Edu¬ 
cation  in  Home  and  School”  (pp.  160-167),  by 
Diffendorfer,  material  that  will  be  suggestive  in 

1  Irvin,  The  Workers’  Manual  (pp.  7,  8).  Christian  Board  of 
Publication,  2712  Pine  St.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

59 


A 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


planning  the  activities  of  the  department  along 
service  lines. 

Equipment. 

Ideal  equipment  for  the  Intermediate  depart¬ 
ment  will  provide  both  for  an  assembly-room  and 
separate  classrooms  for  each  class  in  the  depart¬ 
ment.  If  either  must  be  sacrificed,  however,  it 
should  be  the  assembly-room.  The  department 
room  should  be  attractively  furnished.  On  the 
walls  there  should  be  a  few  well-chosen  and  well¬ 
framed  pictures  with  an  appeal  for  this  age.  Good 
protraits  of  great  Bible  characters,  national  heroes 
and  missionaries  of  the  cross  are  best.  The  follow¬ 
ing  are  suggestive: 

( 1  Christ  in  the  Temple/’  Hofmann. 

“Men  of  the  Bible”  (panel  8*4  x  29  inches).1 

“Women  of  the  Bible”  (panel  8*4x29  inches).1 

“Six  Great  Modern  Missionaries”  (panel  814x29 
inches).1 


Well-chosen  mottoes,  attractive  in  form,  are 
helpful  in  securing  atmosphere,  and  department 
posters  along  recreational  and  service  lines  should 
find  their  place  from  time  to  time.  There  should 
be  a  table  for  the  president  and  secretary,  a  piano 
or  musical  instrument,  chairs,  hymn-books,  maps,  a 
blackboard,  and  a  cabinet  or  bookcase  for  the  nec¬ 
essary  departmental  records  and  teaching  acces- 


1  Dietz  Publishing  Company,  20  E.  Randolph  St.,  Chicago,  Ill. 

60 


THE  INTERMEDIATE  DEPARTMENT 


sories.  The  American  and  Christian  flags  ought 
also  to  be  a  part  of  the  equipment. 

Standards  and  Credits. 

The  real  test  of  development  of  Intermediate 
boys  and  girls  is,  of  course,  to  be  found  in  life 
and  conduct,  as  they  grow  from  day  to  day  and 
year  to  year  in  the  Christian  graces.  There  are, 
however,  some  things  in  the  course  of  study  that 
ought  to  become  a  part  of  the  permanent  life 
equipment  of  boys  and  girls.  The  department 
counselor  and  teachers  should  go  through  the  course 
of  study  in  advance  and  decide  what  the  standard 
of  required  work  for  each  year  is  to  be,  in  order 
that  they  may  know  whether  or  not  boys  and  girls 
are  growing  in  their  knowledge  and  use  of  the 
Bible  as  the  source  of  Christian  ideas  and  ideals. 
This  standard  of  required  work  might  well  be 
made  the  basis  of  promotion  from  class  to  class 
within  the  department.  It  should  include  the  re¬ 
quired  memory  work  (see  International  Graded 
Lessons  for  suggested  passages  of  Scripture  to  be 
memorized),  map  work  (tracing  journeys,  locating 
events,  etc.),  customs  (peculiar  to  the  Holy  Land), 
character  sketches  and  themes. 

Pupils  should  receive  credit  for  the  work  they 
do  in  connection  with  the  church  school  just  as 
they  do  in  the  public  schools,  and  better  results 
will  be  obtained  if  there  is  a  uniform  system  of 

61 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


credits  for  all  the  classes  within  the  department. 
The  following  points  are  suggestive: 


Attendance  _ 30  per  cent. 

On  time  _ 15  11  11 

Offering  _  7  (i  (< 

Use  of  Bible  . . 8  “  “ 

Assigned  work  _ 20  “  <( 


Church  attendance  _ _ 20  ‘  ‘  1 1 

The  assigned  work  may  be  divided  into  two  or 
three  items,  if  desired,  in  which  case  the  20  per 
cent,  would  be  divided,  giving  each  point  a  cer¬ 
tain  per  cent. ;  thus,  home  study,  10  per  cent. ; 
recitation  in  class,  5  per  cent. ;  service  through  the 
week,  5  per  cent.  This  scale  is  merely  suggestive. 
It  may  be  changed  from  time  to  time  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  giving  special  emphasis  to  some  particular 
point.  Pupils  whose  average  is  80  per  cent,  or 
more  should  receive  recognition  in  some  special 
way  in  the  department  from  quarter  to  quarter. 
The  credit  cards  should  be  kept  in  the  department 
during  the  quarters,  the  average  for  each  pupil 
transferred  to  the  teacher’s  or  counselor’s  perma¬ 
nent  record  at  the  end  of  the  quarter,  and  then 
the  credit  card  may  be  given  or  mailed  to  the 
pupil.  The  total  record  of  enrollment,  attendance, 
visitors,  new  pupils,  offerings,  etc.,  will,  of  course, 
need  to  be  sent  to  the  school’s  general  secretary 
each  Sunday. 

The  last  Sunday  in  September  is  usually 
observed  as  Promotion  Day,  inasmuch  as  the  first 

62 


THE  INTERMEDIATE  DEPARTMENT 


lesson  of  the  graded  Sunday-school  year  comes  on 
the  first  Sunday  in  October.  Boys  and  girls  who 
are  passing  from  one  grade  to  another  within  the 
department  may  be  given  promotion  cards,  but 
those  who  pass  from  the  Intermediate  to  the  Senior 
department  should  receive  certificates.  It  is  well 
to  give  certificates  to  only  those  who  have  made  a 
grade  of  70  per  cent,  or  more.  Those  who  have 
made  80  per  cent,  may  receive  honor  seals  on  their 
certificates,  and  those  who  have  made  90  per  cent, 
or  above,  double-honor  seals. 

The  Promotion  Day  service  should  be  based,  for 
the  most  part,  on  the  material  covered  in  the 
course  of  study.  It  may  consist  of  stories,  bio¬ 
graphical  sketches,  dramatizations,  memory  Scrip¬ 
ture,  hymns,  special  music,  etc.  The  book  “Promo¬ 
tion  Day  Plans  in  the  Young  People’s  Division”1 
will  be  of  inestimable  value  to  department  coun¬ 
selor  and  teachers  in  planning  for  this  special  day 
program.  As  a  rule,  only  the  classes  graduating 
from  the  department  are  used  in  connection  with 
this  special  day  service. 

The  Council  and  Co-operation. 

Finally,  there  must  be  a  spirit  of  co-operation 
on  the  part  of  all  the  officers,  teachers  and  pupils, 
without  which  the  finest  organization,  equipment 
and  program  will  fail  utterly.  Regular  meetings 

1  Hodgdon,  Christian  Board  of  Publication,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 


63 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


of  the  department  council  (officers,  committees, 
teachers  and  department  counselor)  will  do  much 
to  bring  this  spirit  of  co-operation  to  pass.  At 
these  meetings  all  the  work  of  the  department 
should  be  considered,  and  plans  for  future  work 
outlined  in  detail. 

In  addition  to  this  meeting,  the  teachers  and 
counselor  should  be  loyal  to  the  work  of  the  church 
and  church  school  as  a  whole,  attending  the 
Workers’  Conference,  or  other  meetings  where 
their  presence  is  desired.  A  thirty  or  forty  minute 
departmental  meeting  in  connection  with  the  Work¬ 
ers’  Conference  will  give  the  teachers  and  counselor 
a  chance  to  talk  over  questions  that  relate  to  les¬ 
son  materials,  problems  of  discipline,  teaching  meth¬ 
ods,  and  other  matters  which  are  not  likely  to  be 
considered  in  the  regular  meetings  of  the  depart¬ 
ment  council. 

The  department  counselor  is  the  key  to  a  suc¬ 
cessful  Intermediate  department.  He  or  she  must 
know  boys  and  girls ;  must  be  full  of  plans ;  able  to 
think  up  interesting  things  young  people  can  do 
for  the  spread  of  the  kingdom;  must  possess  initia¬ 
tive,  leadership,  and  yet  be  able  to  keep  in  the 
background  and  to  work  through  officers,  teachers 
and  pupils  in  bringing  to  pass  desired  results.  It 
requires  sympathy,  interest,  initiative,  consecra¬ 
tion,  preparation ;  but  success  will  crown  the  labors 
of  any  one  who  is  willing  to  pay  the  price  for 
leadership — study  and  hard  w\orh. 

64 


THE  INTERMEDIATE  DEPARTMENT 


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5 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


THE  INTERMEDIATE  DEPARTMENT. 

Scope  of  the  Department. 

1.  Boys  and  girls  between  the  ages  of  twelve  and  fourteen 
years  approximately. 

Intermediate  Pupils. 

1.  Physical  characteristics. 

(1)  Remarkable  physical  growth. 

(2)  Abundance  of  rich,  red  blood. 

(3)  Uneven  growth,  awkardness,  erratic  temperament, 
loud  and  boisterous  conduct. 

(4)  Accompanying  emotional  and  spiritual  unheavals. 

2.  Intellectual  characteristics: 

(1)  Body  often  seems  to  grow  at  expense  of  brain  or 
brain  at  expense  of  body. 

(2)  Ability  to  stick  to  one  thing  not  a  marked  char¬ 
acteristic. 

(3)  Scattering  of  time  and  energy  on  many  things 
due  to  sudden  broadening  of  one’s  horizon. 

(4)  Self-assertion  and  independence. 

(5)  Chief  mental  characteristic  seems  to  be  1  ‘long¬ 
ing.  ” 

(a)  Boy  or  girl  lives  two  lives,  one  visible,  the 
other  invisible. 

(b)  Out  of  this  longing  grows  the  insatiable 
appetite  for  reading. 

3.  Social  characteristics: 

(1)  Awakening  of  social  instincts,  due  to  rapid  ripen¬ 
ing  of  social  areas  of  brain  cells. 

(a)  Boys  and  girls  do  very  little  alone. 

(2)  Eighty-six  per  cent,  of  the  purely  voluntary 
organizations  formed  during  these  years. 

(a)  Eighty-two  per  cent,  of  all  organizations 
formed  are  for  purely  physical  activities. 
66 


THE  INTERMEDIATE  DEPARTMENT 


4.  Religious  characteristics: 

(1)  Deeply  religious,  notwithstanding  their  boisterous, 
impulsive,  impatient,  and  apparently  unresponsive 
attitudes. 

(2)  Youth  begins  to  seek  inward  spiritual  motive  be¬ 
hind  outward  religious  forms. 

(3)  The  twelfth  year  marks  the  first  wave  in  the  mat¬ 
ter  of  personal  conviction  and  conversion. 

(4)  Their  religion  is  a  religion  of  deeds,  not  words. 

Departmental  Aims. 

1.  General  aim  of  adolescent  years: 

(1)  To  secure  .through  worship,  instruction  and  ex¬ 
pression  the  highest  type  of  manhood  and  woman¬ 
hood  expressing  itself  in  right  living  and  efficient 
serving. 

2.  Specific  aims  of  Intermediate  years: 

(1)  To  secure  personal  acceptance  of  Jesus  Christ  as 
Lord  and  Saviour. 

(2)  To  cultivate  increasing  knowledge  of  Christian 
ideals  and  of  Bible  as  source  of  these  ideals. 

(3)  To  secure  an  open  acceptance  of  these  ideals  in 
their  daily  lives  through  Bible  reading,  prayer, 
Christian  conduct,  recreation  and  service. 

(4)  To  awaken  a  growing  appreciation  for  privileges 
and  opportunities  of  church  membership,  and  a 
genuine  reverence  for  the  Lord’s  Day  and  Lord’s 
house. 

(5)  To  secure  an  all-round  development  through  the 
cultivation  of  the  social  consciousness  and  the  ex¬ 
pression  of  the  physical,  intellectual,  social  and 
religious  life  in  service  to  others. 

(6)  A  knowledge  of  Christian  principles  in  choosing 
a  life-work  or  vocation. 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


Organization  of  the  Department. 

1.  A  separate  department  for  this  age  (12-14)  whenever 
possible. 

(1)  May  be  combined  with  the  Senior  high-school 
(15-17)  age. 

2.  Not  too  elaborate  a  form  of  organization: 

(1)  Four  or  five  general  officers  and  three  or  four 
committees  of  three  or  four  members  each. 

3.  Separate  assembly-room  and  classrooms  whenever  build¬ 
ing  permits. 

(1)  May  use  an  adult  classroom  for  assembly. 

4.  Program  of  worship  and  Bible  study  of  from  one  hour 
to  one  hour  and  fifteen  minutes  in  connection  with  church 
school. 

(1)  An  additional  C.  E.  expressional  service  on  Sun¬ 
day  afternoon  or  evening,  where  conditions  make 
it  feasible. 

5.  A  through-the-week  meeting  of  the  department  at 
least  once  a  quarter  for  business,  missionary  and  social  ex¬ 
pression,  preferably  once  a  month. 

A  Correlated  Educational  Program. 

1.  One  organization,  so  planned  as  to  cover  all  phases  of 
the  work,  is  better  than  two  or  more  organizations  for  the 
Intermediate  age. 

(1)  One  leadership  is  better  than  two  or  more. 

2.  Suggested  form  for  a  correlated  program: 

(1)  Name  of  organization — Intermediate  department  of 
the  church. 

(2)  Plan  of  organization: 

A.  For  the  department: 

(a)  Officers — President,  one  or  more  vice-presi¬ 
dents,  secretary,  treasurer  and  advisory  su¬ 
perintendent  or  counselor,  selected  by  the 
68 


THE  INTERMEDIATE  DEPARTMENT 


group  in  conference  with  the  proper  church 
officials. 

(b)  The  Executive  Committee  should  consist  of 
the  officers,  presidents  of  organized  classes, 
chairmen  of  committees,  and  such  represen¬ 
tatives  of  existing  organizations  ,as  may  be 
agreed  upon.  The  pastor  and  general  su¬ 
perintendent  shall  be  ex-officio  members  of 
the  Executive  Committee.  All  the  activi¬ 
ties  of  the  department  shall  be  under  the 
direction  of  this  central  Executive  Com¬ 
mittee. 

(c)  Other  committees  may  be  formed  as  needed. 

B.  For  the  class: 

(a)  The  officers  of  each  class  should  include 
president,  vice-president,  secretary-treas¬ 
urer  and  teacher. 

(b)  Committees  may  be  formed  as  needed,  pre¬ 
ferably  short-term  committees. 

(3)  Meetings:  Meetings  should  be  held  on  Sunday  and 
through  the  week. 

A.  On  Sunday,  as  a  group  for  worship  and  the 
expression  of  the  devotional  life,  and  in  classes 
for  instruction. 

B.  Through  the  week  for  instructional  and  expres- 

sional  activities  as  occasion  demands,  recogniz¬ 
ing  the  physical,  intellectual,  social  and  relig¬ 
ious  life. 

(4)  Program:  Any  complete  program  of  religious  edu¬ 
cation  must  include  three  factors — worship,  in¬ 
struction  and  expression. 

A.  Worship:  The  program  should  provide  oppor¬ 
tunity  for  training  and  participation  in  worship 
on  the  part  of  the  boys  and  girls  in  the  depart¬ 
ment. 


69 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


B.  Instruction:  Should  be  graded  and  adapted  to 
meet  the  needs  of  pupils.  (International  Gra¬ 
ded  Lessons  are  perhaps  the  best.) 

(a)  Teachers:  Should  be  graduates  of  a  recog¬ 
nized  teacher -training  course  or  its  equiva¬ 
lent. 

(b)  Time:  A  class  period,  at  least  thirty  min¬ 
utes  of  which  should  be  given  to  the  lesson. 

(c)  Course  of  study:  There  should  be  courses 
of  study  to  include  Bible  study  and  corre¬ 
lated  subjects,  church  history,  life  service, 
the  cultivation  of  the  devotional  life,  train¬ 
ing  for  leadership  and  service  through 
stewardship,  recreation,  community  work, 
citizenship,  evangelism  and  missions,  gra¬ 
ded  according  to  the  needs  and  interests 
of  the  pupils.  Definite  provision  must  be 
made  both  in  lesson  material  and  by  prac¬ 
tice  for  the  training  of  leaders  for  all 
Christian  activities. 

C.  Expression:  Provision  should  be  made  so  that 
all  worship  and  instruction  shall  issue  in  service 
for  Christ  in  the  home,  church,  community  and 
world  along  physical,  intellectual,  social  and  re¬ 
ligious  lines. 

Equipment. 

1.  Ideal  equipment  will  provide  both  a  separate  depart¬ 
mental  assembly-room  and  separate  classrooms  for  each  class. 

(1)  If  either  must  be  sacrificed,  it  should  be  the  assem¬ 
bly-room. 

2.  Department  and  classrooms  should  be  clean,  well  venti¬ 
lated,  and  as  attractive  as  time  and  means  will  allow. 

(1)  A  few  well-chosen  and  well-framed  pictures. 

3.  Blackboard,  cabinet  or  bookcase,  musical  instrument, 

70 

x 


THE  INTERMEDIATE  DEPARTMENT 


hymn-books,  chairs  and  a  table  for  the  president  and  secre¬ 
tary. 

(1)  For  the  classrooms,  tables  or  broad-armed  chairs. 

4.  American  and  Christian  flags,  seasonal  posters  and  mot¬ 
toes. 

Standards  and  Credits. 

1.  The  real  test  of  development  is  to  be  found  in  life  and 
character. 

2.  Some  things,  however,  in  the  course  of  study  should  be¬ 
come  a  part  of  the  permanent  possession  of  pupils. 

(1)  Department  superintendent  (counselor)  and  teach¬ 
ers  should  go  through  the  course  of  study  in  ad¬ 
vance  of  pupils  and  decide  what  these  things  are, 
and  arrange  for  the  department  a  permanent  stan¬ 
dard  of  content  based  on  the  lessons  in  use.  It 
should  include: 

(a)  Memory  work,  map  work,  outlines,  charac¬ 
ter  sketches,  themes  and  projects. 

3.  A  uniform  system  of  credits  for  all  the  classes  within 
the  department  should  also  be  arranged  by  counselor  and 
teachers.  The  following  is  suggestive: 

(1)  Attendance _ 30  per  cent. 

(2)  On  time  _ 15  11  1 1 

(3)  Offering  _  7  “  “ 

(4)  Use  of  Bible  _  8  “  “ 

(5)  Assigned  work,  home  study,  etc.20  “  11 

(6)  Church  attendance _ 20  “  1 1 

Total  _ 100  “  “ 

Council  and  Co-operation. 

1.  A  spirit  of  co-operation  on  the  part  of  teachers,  offi¬ 
cers  and  pupils  is  essential  to  success. 

(1)  Monthly  meeting  of  the  department  Executive  Com- 

71 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


mittee  and  a  quarterly  meeting  of  the  council  (of¬ 
ficers — department  and  class — teachers  and  chair¬ 
men  of  committees)  will  help  tremendously  to 
bring  this  spirit  of  co-operation  to  pass. 

2.  The  counselor  or  advisory  superintendent  is  the  “key” 
to  a  successful  Intermediate  department. 

(1)  They  must  know  boys  and  girls. 

(2)  They  must  be  able  to  think  of  interesting  and 
worth-while  things  young  people  can  do. 

(3)  They  must  possess  leadership  and  yet  keep  in  the 
background  as  much  as  possible  in  getting  things 
done. 

(4)  The  position  requires  sympathy,  interest,  initiative, 
consecration  and  preparation;  but  success  will 
crown  the  labors  of  any  one  willing  to  pay  the 
price  of  leadership — study  and  hard  work, 

QUESTIONS  FOR  STUDY  AND  DISCUSSION. 

1.  Give  the  outstanding  physical,  intellectual,  social  and 
religious  characteristics  of  Intermediate  pupils. 

2.  Give  the  specific  aims  to  be  accomplished  during  the  In¬ 
termediate  years. 

3.  Discuss  a  simple  form  of  organization  for  a  correlated 
educational  program  for  the  Intermediate  department. 

4.  Name  the  three  elements  that  should  be  considered  in 
working  out  a  correlated  program  of  education  for  the  Inter¬ 
mediate  department. 

5.  Discuss  both  the  essential  and  desirable  equipment  for 
an  Intermediate  department. 

6.  With  the  first,  second  and  third  years  of  the  Interna¬ 
tional  Graded  Lessons  for  the  Intermediate  age  in  mind,  sug¬ 
gest  a  simple  standard  of  content  that  you  feel  should  become 
a  part  of  the  pupil’s  permanent  possession. 

7.  Discuss  the  importance  of  counsel  and  co-operation  in 
building  up  a  successful  Intermediate  department. 

72 


Ill 

THE  SENIOR  DEPARTMENT 

WE  are  to  consider  in  this  chapter  the  Senior 
department  (ages  15-17  approximately),  its 
pupils,  aims,  organization,  program,  equipment, 
standards  and  activities. 

In  churches  where  it  is  necessary  to  combine 
in  a  boys’  and  girls’  (or  high-school)  department 
pupils  from  twelve  or  thirteen  to  eighteen  years  of 
age,  Chapters  II.  and  III.  should  be  considered 
together. 

Senior  Pupils. 

In  our  study  of  the  Intermediate  pupils  we 
noted  that  the  chief  characteristics  of  early  adoles¬ 
cence  were  physical  growth  and  pubertal  develop¬ 
ment,  the  budding  of  individuality,  the  awakening 
of  the  social  instincts,  and  the  birth  of  a  new  God 
consciousness.  In  this  chapter  we  shall  see  the 
maturing  of  many  of  the  tendencies  which  began 
to  manifest  themselves  in  these  earlier  years. 

Physically ,  the  years  from  fifteen  to  seventeen 
mark  the  culmination  of  the  organic  growth  and 
development  of  the  body.  Professor  Weigle  says: 

73 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


“At  fifteen  a  boy  has  attained  92  per  cent,  of  his 
adult  height  and  76  per  cent,  of  his  adult  weight; 
girls  have  reached  in  height  97  per  cent,  and  in 
weight  90  per  cent,  of  their  full  growth.  After 
the  seventeenth  year  girls  almost  cease  to  grow, 
and  boys  grow  comparatively  little,  and  that  main¬ 
ly  in  weight.  This  period  is,  as  a  rule,  a  period  of 
great  vigor  and  energy.  There  is  frequently  an 
increase  in  liability  to  sickness  during  the  period 
of  puberty,  which  declines  immediately  after.  The 
power  to  resist  disease  remains  high  throughout 
these  years. ’  ’ 1  The  physical  energy  which  in  the 
early  teens  was  needed  for  growth  is  now  turned 
into  activity  and  into  the  development  of  strength 
and  agility.  Because  of  this  released  energy  we 
find  the  young  person  of  fifteen  to  eighteen  seek¬ 
ing  the  place  where  life  may  be  lived  to  the  full. 
This  group  of  young  people  at  the  height  of  power, 
full  of  ambition  and  of  desire  to  count  for  some¬ 
thing,  look  during  these  years  over  the  fields  of 
usefulness  and  choose  where  their  life  is  to  be  in¬ 
vested.  Happy  indeed  are  the  young  people  who 
come  to  this  decision  point  with  high  ideals  and 
with  some  appreciation  of  the  real  values  in  life, 
that  their  choices  may  be  made,  not  on  the  basis 
of  dollars  and  cents,  but  on  the  basis  of  service. 

Intellectually,  the  period  of  middle  adolescence 
is  characterized  by  the  development  of  the  reason 

1  The  Pupil  and  Teacher  (p.  48). 


74 


THE  SENIOR  DEPARTMENT 


and  will.  Young  people  are  now  able  to  look  at 
the  question  from  all  sides,  to  weigh,  to  judge,  to 
evaluate.  They  are  no  longer  content  with  scat¬ 
tered  bits  of  knowledge  and  experience;  they  want 
to  see  all  the  things  of  life  in  their  proper  relation¬ 
ship.  They  are  trying  to  patch  together  their  scat¬ 
tered  bits  of  knowledge  and  experience  into  a  com¬ 
plete,  a  rational,  a  logical  whole.  Of  necessity  they 
are  critical;  they  accept  no  bald  imperatives;  they 
demand  proofs.  We  who  deal  with  them  need  to 
remember  that  these  young  people  could  never 
“put  away  childish  things/ ’  and  come  to  a  ma¬ 
ture  adult  viewpoint  about  anything,  without  pass¬ 
ing  through  this  period  of  doubting,  of  question¬ 
ing,  of  perplexities. 

It  is  a  period  of  expansion.  Professor  Weigle 
notes:  “Life  broadens  in  a  hundred  different  and 
unexpected  ways,  and  may  take  any  one  of  them 
for  its  final  direction.  These  years  are  full  of  con¬ 
flicting  impulses,  of  contradictions,  of  surprises. 
Through  it  all,  however,  three  fundamental  char¬ 
acteristics  stand  out  definitely:  the  expansion  of 
selfhood,  a  new  recognition  of  social  values,  and 
the  emotional  instability  associated  with  the 
development  of  the  sexual  instincts.  It  is  during 
these  years  that  boys  and  girls  enter  into  the 
heritage  of  instincts  and  ideals,  of  purposes  and 
ambitions  which  are  their  birthright  as  members  of 
the  human  race.  They  are  filled  with  a  new  sense 
of  power  and  with  the  desire  to  use  it  as  men  and 

75 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


women  do.  They  become  conscious  during  these 
years  of  what  the  world  is  doing,  begin  to  realize 
its  worth,  and  are  eager,  oh!  so  eager,  to  throw 
themselves  into  the  real  things  of  life  and  to  do 
what  there  lies  waiting  for  them.  ’  ’ 1 

The  independence  and  self-assertiveness  of  this 
period  is  of  a  wholly  different  sort  from  that  dur¬ 
ing  the  years  from  twelve  to  fourteen.  Then  boys 
and  girls  were  independent  because  of  their  grow¬ 
ing  consciousness  of  themselves  as  individuals;  now 
it  is  more  an  independence  of  vision,  the  self- 
assertion  of  those  who  see  the  great  interests  of 
human  life,  and  who  desire  to  give  and  get,  on 
their  own  account,  a  share  in  the  world’s  big  life. 
This  accounts  for  the  large  number  of  young 
people  who  drop  out  of  school  and  go  to  work  dur¬ 
ing  these  years. 

Then,  too,  these  are  the  years  when  boys  and 
girls  become  genuinely  idealistic.  They  are  more 
than  hero-worshipers — youth  in  the  period  of  early 
adolescence  is  that — they  are  worshipers  of  the  in¬ 
ward  qualities  that  it  takes  to  make  a  hero.  They 
feel  now,  as  never  before,  the  intrinsic  value  of 
truth,  faith,  love  and  self-sacrifice.  They  do  not 
merely  admire  these  virtues  in  others;  they  feel 
them  stirring  within  their  own  lives. 

Socially ,  this  period  is  of  tremendous  impor? 
tance.  The  sex  repulsion  so  noticeable  during  the 

lThe  Pupil  and  the  Teacher  (pp.  48,  49). 


76 


THE  SENIOR  DEPARTMENT 


period  of  later  childhood,  and  even  into  early 
adolescence,  has  disappeared.  Boys  and  girls  now 
openly  seek  the  society  each  of  the  other  as  though 
they  understood  at  last  that  God  intended  them 
to  work  and  play  together.  The  social  group 
widens  a  bit  during  these  years,  and  there  is  a 
marked  desire  for  leadership  and  initiative  in 
group  activities.  “From  sixteen  or  seventeen  on 
the  feelings  deepen;  emotions  become  sentiments; 
and  the  affections  are  more  lasting.” 

Life  during  these  years  becomes  genuinely  altru¬ 
istic.  Boys  and  girls  alike  are  happy  in  the  pur¬ 
suit  of  their  ideals,  and  are  glad  to  endure  hard¬ 
ships  and  to  make  sacrifice  for  others.  Professor 
Weigle  indicates  also  that  this  period  marks  the 
beginning  of  real  selfishness,  if  the  higher  im¬ 
pulse,  when  present,  is  denied  expression.1  The 
constant  choice  between  the  “for  others”  instinct 
and  the  “self”  instinct  is  the  ever-present  problem 
of  this  period.  If  the  higher  impulse  is  given  ex¬ 
pression,  the  life  will  be  lived  largely  for  others ; 
if  denied,  the  interests  of  self  will  tend  always  to 
be  given  first  consideration.  The  task  of  the  church 
is  to  provide  young  people  with  a  program  of  ser¬ 
vice  so  big,  so  strong,  so  desirable,  that  with  irre¬ 
sistible  power  it  will  challenge  youth  to  leave  all 
selfish  interests  and  follow  the  Christ  in  service  to 
humanity. 

xThe  Pupil  and  the  Teacher  (p.  60). 


77 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


Religiously,  this  is  a  period  of  extremes.  One 
day  the  boy  or  girl  is  the  most  zealous  of  religious 
enthusiasts,  and  the  next  day  a  ‘  ‘  doubting 
Thomas/ ’  “I  do  not  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  is 
the  Son  of  God,”  said  a  fine  sixteen-year-old  girl 
to  her  Sunday-school  teacher.  “Oh!  I  think  He 
was  the  greatest  man  that  ever  lived,  but  I  do  not 
believe  He  was  the  Son  of  God.”  That  wise, 
cl  ear- visioned  teacher  replied:  “Well,  Katherine, 
I  believe  He  was  more  than  that,  but  if  you  can 
not  believe  He  was  any  more  than  just  the  greatest 
man  that  ever  lived,  you  begin  right  there,  believ¬ 
ing  that,  and  live  the  life  He  did.”  Eighteen 
months  later  Katherine  came  to  that  teacher’s 
home  one  night  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  and  said: 
“I  know  that  Jesus  Christ  was  the  Son  of  God, 
for  no  man  could  have  lived  the  life  He  did  and 
not  have  been.”  What  Katherine  needed,  and 
what  perhaps  every  boy  and  girl  in  this  period 
need  when  they  express  doubt,  is  not  reproof  and 
rebuke,  but  just  a  chance  to  live  a  little  longer 
to  realize  within  the  limits  of  their  own  human 
experience  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the 
living  God,  and  their  Saviour. 

The  emotional  intensity  of  this  period  manifests 
itself  in  ardent  devotion  and  self-sacrifice.  The 
fact  that  more  medals  are  awarded  young  people 
in  this  period  for  heroic  deeds  than  in  all  the 
other  years  of  life  is  a  worthy  testimony  to  their 
readiness  to  sacrifice  self  for  the  good  of  others. 

78 


THE  SENIOR  DEPARTMENT 


The  high-water  mark  in  conversion  comes  also 
during  this  period.  There  are  two  things  that  are 
likely  to  undermine  the  religion  of  this  group — 
doubt  unsatisfactorily  answered  and  devotion  un¬ 
used.  The  program  of  Christian  education  for  this 
group  should  provide  adequate  instruction  in  the 
things  fundamental  to  the  Christian  life,  and  a 
definite  program  of  service  that  will  make  it  possi¬ 
ble  for  them  to  express  the  truths  learned  in  life. 
Boys  and  girls  in  these  emotional  years  are 
approaching  the  4  4  danger-line  in  religion,  ’  ’  and 
unless  they  are  vitally  related  to  the  work  of  the 
kingdom  through  the  acceptance  of  Jesus  Christ 
as  a  personal  Saviour,  and  enlistment  in  His  ser¬ 
vice,  there  is  always  the  danger  that  they  will  be 
lost  entirely  to  God  and  the  church. 

Department  Aims. 

If  we  are  to  work  conscientiously  toward  the 
realization  of  the  general  aim  of  the  church  through 
its  church  school,  then  we  must  have  for  each 
department  specific  aims  that  are  related  to  the 
general  aim ;  and  which,  when  accomplished,  will 
bring  us  nearer  to  the  realization  of  the  educational 
aim  of  the  church.  The  specific  aims  of  the  Senior 
department  are  to  realize  in  the  life  of  each  in¬ 
dividual  pupil  the  following  results: 

1.  4  4  The  acceptance  of  Jesus  Christ  as  a  per¬ 
sonal  Saviour  and  Lord/ 7  Since  the  “high-water” 
mark  in  conversion  comes  during  these  emotional 

79 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


years,  we  should  endeavor  to  win  for  Christ  and 
the  church  each  life  that  has  not  already  taken 
that  important  step. 

2.  “The  testing  of  his  earlier  Christian  ideals 
in  the  light  of  his  enlarging  experiences  and  the 
consequent  adjustments  of  his  life  choices  and 
conduct.”  Young  people  must  be  helped  to  see 
that  Christian  ideals  must  function  in  conduct ,  in 
the  choice  of  friends ,  amusements ,  vocations,  etc. 

3.  “The  expression  of  the  rapidly  developing 
social  consciousness  through  the  home,  church  and 
community.  ’ 7 

4.  “The  development  of  initiative,  responsibility 
and  self-expression  in  Christian  service.  ’ 7 1 

5.  “A  knowledge  of  Christian  principles  in 
choosing  a  life-work  or  vocation.” 

6.  “The  realization  of  opportunities  for  life- 
work  that  are  open  in  the  field  of  full-time  Chris¬ 
tian  callings.” 

Here,  as  in  the  Intermediate  department,  the 
counselor  and  teachers  should  check  up,  from  time 
to  time,  the  work  that  is  being  done,  to  see  how 
largely  these  aims  are  being  accomplished  in  the 
lives  of  Senior  boys  and  girls. 

Organization. 

Organization  is  essential  to  the  fullest  develop¬ 
ment  of  young  people  because  it  provides  oppor- 

1 1917  Minutes  of  the  Sunday  School  Council  of  Evangelical  De¬ 
nominations  (p.  45). 


80 


THE  SENIOR  DEPARTMENT 


tunity  which  growing  life  demands.  There,  should 
be,  therefore,  in  every  church,  a  department  of 
church  life  for  each  normal  group  of  adolescents 
(Intermediate,  Senior  and  Young  People),  provid¬ 
ing  opportunity  for  the  instruction,  training  and 
expression  of  the  physical,  intellectual,  social  and 
religious  life  in  service. 

The  ideal  in  work  with  young  people,  as  we 
have  seen,  is  one  inclusive  organization  in  the 
local  church  for  each  normal  group  of  adolescents, 
each  of  these  organizations  to  provide  all  the  neces¬ 
sary  worship,  instruction  and  training  through 
departments  made  up  of  classes.  The  classes  to  be 
organized  for  specific  tasks  and  individual  and 
group  training,  and  the  departments  organized  for 
group  activities  and  for  the  cultivation  of  the 
devotional  life  through  prayer,  praise,  testimony 
and  other  forms  of  self-expression. 

The  diagrams  on  page  110  suggest  two  dif¬ 
ferent  forms  of  correlated  departmental  organiza¬ 
tion,  either  of  which  may  be  adapted  to  suit  the 
needs  of  the  Senior  group.  As  soon  as  the  organ¬ 
ization  has  been  effected  there  should  be  a  meet¬ 
ing  of  the  council  (officers,  committees,  teachers 
and  department  counselor)  to  plan  the  work  of  the 
Senior  department  of  the  church,  both  with  re¬ 
lation  to  the  Sunday  school,  Christian  Endeavor 
and  missionary  education.  This  council  should  so 
plan  its  program  of  work  with  young  people  as  to 
touch  every  phase  of  the  church’s  work,  and  so 
6  ‘  8.1 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


correlate  its  worship,  instruction  and  activities 
that  there  will  be  no  needless  overlapping  and 
duplication  of  effort.  In  most  churches  it  will  be 
found  expedient  to  elect  officers  early  in  October, 
with  the  understanding  that  the  officers  selected 
are  to  serve  for  one  year.  If  the  officers  are  chosen 
semi-annually,  then  it  should  be  understood  that 
no  set  of  officers  is  to  serve  for  more  than  two 
consecutive  terms. 

Where  the  building  permits,  there  should  be  a 
separate  assembly-room  for  the  Senior  department, 
providing  opportunity  for  training  and  expression 
in  worship,  both  in  connection  with  the  Sunday 
school  and  Christian  Endeavor.  Where  the  arrange¬ 
ment  of  the  building  does  not  permit  of  depart¬ 
ment  assemblies,  the  meetings  of  the  Senior  group 
may  be  combined  with  the  Intermediate  and 
Young  People.  Where  adjustments  of  this  sort 
are  necessary,  the  group  plan  of  conducting  meet¬ 
ings  may  be  used  to  splendid  advantage — the  Inter¬ 
mediate  group  being  responsible  for  the  services 
one  Sunday,  the  Senior  group  the  next  Sunday, 
and  the  Young  People’s  group  the  Sunday  follow¬ 
ing. 

In  this  department,  as  in  the  Intermediate,  the 
president  should  preside  over  all  sessions,  unless 
that  work  has  been  assigned  for  the  day  to  some 
other  person  or  group.  In  addition  to  the  church- 
school  and  Christian  Endeavor  sessions  of  the 
department,  there  should  be  at  least  one  through- 

82 


THE  SENIOR  DEPARTMENT 


the-week  departmental  activity  each  quarter  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  a  departmental  spirit  and 
unity  of  action  on  the  part  of  the  larger  group. 
A  monthly  through-the-week  meeting  is  much  to  be 
preferred.  (See  Chapter  IX.  for  plans  and 
materials. ) 

In  addition  to  the  departmental  organization, 
each  of  the  small  class  groups  within  the  depart¬ 
ment  should  be  organized,  each  with  its  own  set 
of  boy  and  girl  officers  and  committees,  and  its 
regular  Sunday  and  through  the  week  or  month 
meetings.  (See  Chapter  V.  for  plan  of  organiza¬ 
tion  and  program,  and  Chapter  VI.  for  sugges¬ 
tions  concerning  the  through-the-week  activities.) 

The  Program. 

The  program  of  study  and  activities  for  Seniors 
should  develop  them  upon  all  sides  of  their  na¬ 
ture — physical,  intellectual,  social  and  religious. 
It  should  include  Bible  study  and  correlated  sub¬ 
jects,  church  history,  life  service,  the  cultivation 
of  the  devotional  life,  training  for  leadership,  and 
service  through  stewardship,  recreation,  community 
work,  citizenship,  evangelism  and  missions. 

The  programs  of  worship  for  Seniors  should 
provide  opportunity  for  both  training  and  ex¬ 
pression.  In  this  department,  as  in  the  Inter¬ 
mediate,  these  programs  should  be  builded  around 
centralizing  ideas  or  themes  that  have  a  more  or 
less  universal  appeal,  such  as  loyalty,  gratitude, 

83 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


love,  faith,  reverence,  etc.  All  the  elements  in  the 
program  should  be  correlated  around  the  themes 
chosen;  and  the  pupils  should  be  largely  responsi¬ 
ble  both  for  building  and  conducting  the  program. 
Many  departments  are  now  planning  their  worship 
programs  for  a  month  at  a  time ;  and  in  some 
schools  the  classes,  as  units,  are  made  responsible 
each  for  a  program.  The  plan  is  good,  providing 
the  rivalry  between  classes  within  the  department 
does  not  become  so  great  that  the  program  ceases 
to  be  a  worship  service  and  becomes  a  spectacular 
stunt.  The  department  counselor  and  teachers 
working  through  the  classes  may  be  of  special 
service  here. 

Teachers  will  find  in  the  International  Graded 
Lessons  for  fifteen,  sixteen  and  seventeen  year  old 
pupils  the  best  lesson  material  for  these  emotional 
years,  for  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  needs, 
not  the  number  of  pupils,  should  determine  the 
choice  of  the  material  to  be  used. 

Pupils  fifteen  to  seventeen  years  of  age  are 
happy-hearted,  emotional,  full  of  the  burning  am¬ 
bitions  of  youth.  They  do  not  accept  assertions 
unhesitatingly  as  heretofore,  but  probe  statement 
and  motive  with  questions  none  the  less  sincere  be¬ 
cause  they  are  often  outspoken.  The  spiritual  needs 
of  these  pupils  must  be  met  at  this  time,  and  they 
must  be  won  to  Christ  and  His  service,  or  be 
perhaps  forever  lost  to  the  church  and  the  kingdom. 

The  aim  of  the  International  Graded  Lessons 

84 


THE  SENIOR  DEPARTMENT 


for  the  fifteenth  year  is :  ‘  ‘  To  set  before  the  pupil, 
through  a  biographical  study  of  Jesus  Christ,  the 
highest  possible  ideals  of  Christian  living  in  aspects 
and  forms  to  which  the  impulses  of  his  own  nature 
may  be  expected  to  respond ;  to  lead  the  pupil  to 
accept  Jesus  as  his  personal  Saviour  and  the  Lord 
of  his  life.”  This  course  of  study  of  the  life  of 
Christ,  as  given  in  the  four  Gospels,  is  of  peculiar 
interest  and  value,  because  it  comes  at  the  time 
when  so  many  of  these  young  people  are  making 
the  decision  as  to  whether  or  not  Christ  shall  be  the 
ruler  of  their  lives. 

The  aim  of  the  International  Graded  Lessons 
for  the  sixteenth  year  is:  “To  strengthen  and  en¬ 
courage  those  young  people  who  have  decided  to 
live  the  Christian  life,  and  to  help  others  to  accept 
Jesus  as  their  personal  Saviour;  to  lead  young 
people  into  a  sympathetic  and  intelligent  attitude 
toward  the  church,  and  to  inspire  them  to  seek 
membership  in  it;  to  awaken  an  interest  in  Bible 
reading  and  study  as  a  means  of  personal  spiritual 
growth.”  The  themes  for  this  years  of  “Studies 
in  Christian  Living”  are  as  follows: 

I.  “What  It  Means  to  Be  a  Christian**  (Lessons  1-13). 

II.  “  Special  Problems  of  Christian  Living’*  (Lessons  14-26). 

III.  “The  Christian  and  the  Church’*  (Lessons  27-39). 

IY.  “The  Word  of  God  in  Life*’  (Lessons  40-52). 

The  aim  of  the  International  Graded  Lessons 

for  the  seventeenth  year  is:  “To  lead  the  pupil 

85 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


to  see  life  in  the  proper  perspective  from  the  Chris¬ 
tian  point  of  view,  and  to  aid  him  in  finding  his 
place  and  part  in  the  world’s  work.”  The  themes 
discussed  are: 

I.  “The  World  a  Field  for  Christian  Service”  (Lessons 
1-26). 

II.  “The  Problems  of  Youth  in  Social  Life”  (Lessons  27- 
39). 

III.  “The  Book  of  Ruth”  (Lessons  40-42). 

1Y.  “The  Epistle  of  James”  ^Lessons  43-52). 

/ 

It  is  evident  that  these  lessons  definitely  relate 
themselves  to  the  life  interests  and  life  needs  of 
this  period — accepting  Christ  at  fifteen,  relating 
Christ  to  every-day  life  at  sixteen,  and  finding 
one’s  place  in  the  world  of  service  at  seventeen. 

Inasmuch  as  elective  courses  are  available  for 
young  people,  it  may  seem  wiser  in  some  cases  to 
offer  sixteen  and  seventeen  year  old  pupils  an 
opportunity  to  elect  other  studies  that  will  fit 
them  at  an  early  date  for  service  in  the  home, 
church  and  community.  The  following  courses  are 
available : 

“The  Standard  Teacher-training  Course”  (three  years). 

“Making  Life  Count,”  Foster  (mission  study). 

“Servants  of  the  King,”  Speer  (mission  study). 

“Comrades  in  Service,”  Burton  (mission  study). 

“Heroines  of  Service,”  Parkman  (mission  study). 

“Problems  of  Boyhood,”  Johnson. 

“ Lives  Worth  Living,”  Peabody. 

86 


THE  SENIOR  DEPARTMENT 


In  small  schools  where  there  is  but  one  class 
of  Senior  age  the  Departmentalized  Graded  Les¬ 
sons  or  the  three-year  cycle  plan  for  the  use  of  the 
closely  graded  lessons  will  be  found  advisable. 

The  activities  of  the  Senior  department  should 
be  many  and  varied.  They  should  touch  every 
phase  and  interest  of  life  in  its  relation  to  the 
home,  church,  community  and  world.  The  activ¬ 
ities  should  be  planned  largely  by  the  Council  or 
Executive  Committee  and  the  details  assigned  to 
the  proper  committees  or  classes  for  execution. 
(See  Chapters  VI.  and  IX.  for  plans  and  program.) 

Equipment. 

It  would  be  ideal,  indeed,  if  in  every  church 
school  there  could  be  a  separate  assembly-room  and 
separate  classrooms  for  all  pupils  of  Senior  age. 
In  only  a  few  churches  at  the  present  time,  how¬ 
ever,  is  that  ideal  realized.  Churches  contemplat¬ 
ing  new  buildings  should  keep  these  natural  group¬ 
ings  (Intermediate,  12-14;  Senior,  15-17,  and 
Young  People,  18-24)  in  mind,  and  provide,  if 
possible,  for  both  separate  assembly-rooms  and 
separate  classrooms  for  each  group.  In  the  one- 
room  church  building  some  separation  of  classes 
and  departments  may  be  arranged  for  by  group¬ 
ing  Intermediate  classes  on  one  side  of  the  room 
and  Senior  classes  on  the  other  side,  with  curtains 
or  screens  that  may  be  used  for  the  class  period. 
Ideal  equipment  for  the  departmental  room  will 

87 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


include  a  filing  cabinet  or  bookcase  for  the  neces¬ 
sary  records,  teaching  materials,  maps,  pictures, 
etc.,  a  table  for  the  president  and  secretary,  a 
musical  instrument,  hymn-books,  a  blackboard, 


MOVABLE  ASSEMBLY -BOOM  CHAIR* 

maps  and  chairs.  Where  the  department  room 
must  be  used  for  classroom  purposes  also,  the 
broad-armed  assembly-room  chairs  are  ideal.  (See 
the  diagram  on  page  111  for  illustration.)  The 

*  Used  through  the  courtesy  of  the  American  Seating  Company, 
Chicago,  Illinois. 


88 


THE  SENIOR  DEPARTMENT 


American  and  Christian  flags  should  form  a  part 
of  the  department  room’s  equipment;  and  a  few 
well-chosen  mottoes,  attractive  in  form,  will  be 
helpful  in  securing  a  department  atmosphere. 
Recreation  and  service  posters  will  find  their  place 
from  time  to  time ;  and  the  walls  should  be 
adorned  with  a  few  well-chosen  and  well-framed 
pictures.  The  following  are  suggestive: 

“  Christ  and  the  Rich  Young  Ruler,  ”  Hofmann. 

“The  Return  from  Calvary,”  H.  Schmalz. 

“Head  of  Christ”  (adult  head),  Hofmann. 

“Christ  and  the  Fisherman,”  Zimmerman. 

‘  ‘  The  Frieze  of  the  Prophets, *  ’  Sargent. 

What  was  said  with  reference  to  “Standards 
and  Credits”  in  the  Intermediate  department 
(Chap.  II.,  pp.  61-63)  might  well  be  repeated 
for  emphasis  in  planning  the  work  of  the  Senior 
department.  The  author  found  the  following 
Standard  of  Required  Work,1  based  on  the  Inter¬ 
national  Graded  Lessons  for  pupils  fifteen,  sixteen 
and  seventeen  years  of  age,  in  use  in  one  school 
with  splendid  results: 

I.  Memory  Work: 

1.  To  be  correlated  with  the  study  of  the  “Rife  of 
Christ.  ’ 1 

(1)  First  quarter — John  3:  16-21;  14:  1-12. 

(2)  Second  quarter — Acts  1:  34-43;  Phil.  2:  5- 

11. 

1  The  minimum  requirement  for  each  year,  any  quarter’s  assigned 
memory  work,  at  least  one  outline  and  one  theme. 

89 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


(3)  Third  quarter — Isa.  52:  13 — 53:  12. 

(4)  Fourth  quarter — John  14:  21-24;  1  Pet.  1: 
3-9;  Rev.  5:  9-13. 

2.  To  be  correlated  with  the  theme,  “'Studies  in  Chris¬ 
tian  Living.  ” 

(1)  First  quarter — 1  Corinthians  13. 

(2)  Second  quarter — Col.  1:  9-11;  2  Tim.  3:  14- 
17;  2:  15. 

(3)  Third  quarter — John  17:  20-23. 

(4)  Fourth  quarter — Review  of  the  books  of  the 
Bible  (both  Old  and  New  Testaments), 
with  contents. 

3.  To  be  correlated  with  the  study  of  “The  World  a 
Field  of  Christian  Service.” 

(1)  First  quarter — Memorize  the  hymn,  “Where 
Cross  the  Crowded  Ways  of  Life,”  by 
North. 

(2)  Second  quarter — Acts  22:1-21;  2  Cor.  11: 
21—12:  1;  Gal.  1:  11—2:  10. 

(3)  Third  quarter — The  “Sermon  on  the 
Mount,”  Matthew  5-7. 

(4)  Fourth  quarter — Tell  in  your  own  words  the 
story  of  Ruth.  Give  ten  Christian  proverbs 
from  the  Book  of  James. 

II.  Outlines: 

1.  Give  in  outline  the  story  of  the  life  of  Christ. 

2.  Trace  on  an  outline  map  one  of  the  journeys  of 
Christ;  indicate  the  points  visited,  and  what  hap¬ 
pened  at  each  point. 

3.  Outline  the  contents  of  the  Book  of  Ruth;  of  James. 

III.  Themes  (not  over  five  hundred  words)  : 

1.  The  World’s  Supreme  Hero. 

2.  Why  I  Believe  the  Bible  to  Be  the  Word  of  God. 

3.  The  Christian  Life  and  Popular  Amusements. 

4.  Reasons  for  Accepting  Jesus  Christ  as  a  Personal 
Saviour. 


90 


THE  SENIOR  DEPARTMENT 


In  the  Senior  department,  as  in  the  Inter¬ 
mediate,  there  should  be  a  uniform  system  of 
credits  for  all  the  classes  within  the  department. 
The  points  suggested  on  page  62  of  Chapter  II. 
may  be  changed  and  adapted  to  meet  the  needs  of 
Senior  pupils.  Some  schools  are  using  the  scholar¬ 
ship  plan,  with  splendid  success,  to  encourage 
special  effort  on  the  part  of  young  people.  These 
scholarships,  one  or  two  each  year,  range  from 
twenty-five  to  fifty  dollars;  and  are  offered,  one 
to  the  Senior  and  one  to  the  Young  People’s  depart¬ 
ments,  for  the  purpose  of  paying  the  way  of  the 
boy  or  girl  who  makes  the  highest  average,  for  a 
given  period  of  time  (usually  nine  months — Octo¬ 
ber  to  July),  to  some  Young  People’s  Conference, 
Summer  School  of  Methods,  or  Older  Boys’  or 
Girls’  Conference.  In  addition  to  these  regular 
scholarships,  provided  by  the  Sunday  school  or 
some  person  of  means  in  the  church,  an  additional 
fellowship  scholarship  is  sometimes  offered  by  the 
church,  which  may  go  only  to  one  who  has  before 
earned  one  of  the  regular  scholarships.  The  plan 
is  to  be  highly  commended. 

Leadership. 

Trained  leadership  is  the  vital  need  of  the 
Senior  years.  The  department  counselor  and 
teachers  for  this  period  should  be  graduates  of  a 
recognized  teacher-training  course,  or  its  equivalent, 
and  should  continue  their  specialization  by  study 

91 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


and  by  attending  conventions,  institutes  schools  of 
methods,  and  community  training-schools.  A  young 
man  is,  as  a  rule,  the  ideal  leader  of  boys  in  the 
middle  teens;  and  a  young  woman  the  ideal  leader 
for  girls.  Whether  the  leadership  is  male  or 
female,  however,  several  qualities  are  essential — 
Christian  character,  patience,  persistence,  sympathy, 
understanding,  ability  to  guide  and  direct  and  at 
the  same  time  keep  in  the  background,  aims,  plans, 
and  a  willingness  to  train  for  service.  Teachers 
and  leaders  who  are  unwilling  to  try,  at  least,  to 
develop  these  qualities,  should  not  be  selected  as 
leaders  for  Senior  boys  and  girls. 

TEACHING  OUTLINE. 

Scope. 

1.  Pupils,  ages  fifteen  to  seventeen  approximately.  (Modi¬ 
fied  and  adjusted  to  school  grade  or  vocational  groupings.) 

Pupils. 

1.  Characteristics : 

(1)  Physically: 

(a)  Culmination  of  the  organic  growth  of  the  body. 

(b)  Abundance  of  rich,  red  blood  released  for  vigor 
and  energy. 

(c)  Emotions  are  at  flood-tide. 

(d)  Power  to  resist  disease  high. 

(2)  Intellectually: 

(a)  Beginning  of  development  of  reason  and  will 
center  of  brain. 

(b)  Expansion,  the  chief  mental  characteristic. 
Manifests  itself  in  three  ways: 

Expansion  of  selfhood  (individuality,  person- 
92 


THE  SENIOR  DEPARTMENT 


ality).  New  recognition  of  social  values  (team¬ 
work,  desire  for  social  recognition  and  social 
solidarity).  Emotional  instability  associated 
with  the  development  of  the  sex  instifict. 

(c)  Period  when  young  people  become  genuinely 
altruistic  or  genuinely  selfish. 

(3)  Socially: 

(a)  Sex  repulsion  of  later  childhood,  and  sex  apathy 
of  early  adolescence,  have  passed. 

Youth  openly  seeks  the  association  of  the  other 
sex  as  though  they  understood  at  last  that  God 
intended  them  to  live  and  love,  work  and  play 
together. 

(b)  Constant  choice  between  the  “for  others* *  and 
“  self -instinct.  ** 

(4)  Religiously: 

(a)  A  period  of  extremes: 

One  day  a  religious  enthusiast,  the  next  a 
doubting  Thomas. 

(b)  Emotional  intensity  manifests  itself  in  ardent 
devotion  and  self-sacrifice. 

(c)  A  high-water  mark  in  the  matter  of  conviction 
and  conversion. 

(d)  Two  things  tend  to  undermine  the  religious  de¬ 
velopment  of  youth: 

Doubt  unsatisfactorily  answered,  and  devotion 
unused. 

Aims. 

1.  Acceptance  of  Jesus  Christ  as  a  personal  Saviour. 

2.  Testing  of  earlier  Christian  ideas  and  ideals  in  light  of 
enlarging  experiences  and  consequent  adjustments  of  life 
choices  and  conduct. 

3.  Expression  of  rapidly  developing  social  consciousness 
in  the  home,  school,  church  and  community. 

93 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


4.  The  development  of  initiative,  responsibility  and  self- 
expression  in  Christian  service. 

5.  A  knowledge  of  Christian  principles  in  choosing  a  life- 
work  or  vocation. 

6.  The  realization  of  opportunities  for  life-work  that  are 
open  in  the  field  of  full-time  Christian  callings. 

Note. — Check  pupils’  development  from  quarter  to  quarter 
to  see  how  well  these  aims  are  being  realized. 

Organization. 

1.  A  separate  department  for  this  age  whenever  possible. 

2.  A  separate  assembly-room  where  building  permits. 

3.  A  weekly  church-school  meeting  of  the  department;  ad¬ 
ditional  Christian  Endeavor,  missionary  and  social  expression 
meetings  on  Sunday  evening  and  through  the  week. 

4.  A  correlated  organization  and  program: 

(1)  One  organization  so  planned  as  to  cover  all  phases 
of  work. 

(2)  Suggestion  of  a  correlated  program: 

(a)  Name — Senior  department  of  the  church. 

(b)  Officers- — President,  four  vice-presidents  (each 
to  serve  as  chairman  of  one  of  the  committees 
suggested  below’),  secretary,  four  associate  sec¬ 
retaries  (one  to  be  assigned  to  each  of  the  four 
committees) ,  treasurer. 

(c)  Committees  (four  as  follows,  each  to  be  defi¬ 
nitely  responsible  for  the  type  of  work  com¬ 
mitted  to  them)  : 

Church-school  or  Bible-school  Committee  (re¬ 
sponsibility  for  worship  programs  of  their  de¬ 
partment  of  church  school  and  general  over¬ 
sight  of  the  organized  classes  within  the  depart¬ 
ment)  . 

Christian  Endea/vor  (entire  responsibility  for 
developing  worth-while  C.  E.  program  for  this 
department). 


94 


THE  SENIOR  DEPARTMENT 


Missions  and  Social  Service  (missionary  edu¬ 
cation,  both  instruction  and  expression,  inclu¬ 
ding  social  service  surveys  and  activities). 
Social  Life  Committee  (entire  responsibility  for 
the  social  and  recreational  program  of  the  de¬ 
partment)  . 

Note. — Committees  should  have  not  more  than 
five  members.  Preferably  not  more  than  three 
if  the  department  is  small. 

(d)  Constitution:  A  constitution  should  be  worked 
out,  covering  all  the  phases  of  work,  method  of 
conducting  business  of  the  department,  plan  of 
organization,  etc.,  and  formally  adopted. 

(3)  Items  to  be  considered  in  correlating  the  program: 

(a)  Worship:  Should  provide  for  both  training  and 
participation  on  the  part  of  the  young  people 
themselves. 

(b)  bistruction :  Should  be  graded  to  meet  their 
needs.  (International  Graded  Lessons  are  per¬ 
haps  the  best.) 

(e)  Expression:  Program  of  expressional  activities 
should  be  outlined  by  the  four  committees,  and 
then  submitted  to  central  Executive  Committee, 
which  is  composed  of  the  officers,  chairmen  of 
permanent  committees  and  the  adult  advisory 
superintendent  or  counselor. 

Equipment. 

1.  Departmental  assembly-room  and  separate  classrooms. 

2.  Assembly-room  and  classrooms  should  be  clean,  well 
ventilated  and  as  attractive  as  time  and  means  will  allow. 

3.  A  few  well-chosen  and  attractively  framed  pictures: 

(1)  “  Christ  and  Kich  Young  Euler,”  Hofmann. 

(2)  “Eeturn  from  Calvary,”  Schmalz. 

(3)  “  Christ  and  the  Fisherman,”  Zimmerman. 

(4)  “Head  of  Christ,”  Hofmann. 

95 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


4.  Blackboard,  cabinet,  musical  instrument,  hymn-books, 
chairs  and  table  for  president  and  secretary  of  the  depart¬ 
ment.  American  and  Christian  flags,  departmental  mottoes 
and  recreational  and  service  posters. 

Departmental  Standards  and  Credits. 

1.  A  definite  standard  of  content  based  on  the  lessons  in 
use  in  the  department  is  essential  to  real  progress. 

(1)  Officers  of  classes  and  teachers  should  work  to¬ 
gether  in  outlining  this  standard. 

(2)  It  should  be  formally  adopted  by  the  department 
and  become  the  basis  of  credit  for  promotion  from 
year  to  year. 

2.  A  uniform  system  of  credits  for  all  classes  within  de¬ 
partment  is  desirable: 

(1)  See  page  62,  Chapter  II.,  for  suggested  items. 

(2)  Scholarships  to  young  people  making  highest  rec¬ 
ord  in  the  department  tremendously  worth  while. 

Leadership. 

1.  The  vital  need  of  the  Senior  years. 

2.  Department  superintendent  or  counselor  and  teachers 
should  be  graduates  of  a  recognized  teacher -training  course. 

(1)  Should  continue  specialization  through  leadership 
training-schools,  community  institutes,  etc. 

3.  Christian  character,  patience,  persistence,  sympathy,  un¬ 
derstanding,  ability  to  guide  and  direct  and  at  same  time  keep 
in  background,  aims,  plans  and  a  willingness  to  train  for  ser¬ 
vice  essential  to  successful  work  with  young  people  of  Senior 
age. 

QUESTIONS  FOR  STUDY  AND  DISCUSSION. 

1.  Name  five  characteristics  of  Senior  boys  and  girls. 

2.  Give  the  six  aims  of  the  Senior  department. 

3.  Suggest  a  correlated  educational  organization  and  pro¬ 
gram  for  the  Senior  department  covering  the  work  of  the  Bible 

96 


THE  SENIOR  DEPARTMENT 


school,  Christian  Endeavor,  missionary  education  and  social 
expression. 

4.  With  the  International  Graded  Lessons  in  mind,  sug¬ 
gest  a  simple  standard  of  required  work,  covering  memory 
Scripture,  outlines,  themes,  etc.,  for  the  Senior  (15-17)  years. 

5.  Suggest  a  system  of  credits  for  the  Senior  department 
that  will  help  pupils  to  master  the  standard  of  required  work. 


7 


97 


IV 


THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DEPARTMENT 

HIS  department  includes  young  people  approx- 


1  imately  eighteen  to  twenty-four  years  of  age. 
In  the  practical  working  out  of  the  educational 
program  of  the  church,  however,  this  department 
will  contain  about  all  the  young,  unmarried  people 
in  the  church. 

Characteristics  of  Young  People. 

The  years  from  eighteen  to  twenty-four,  while 
not  characterized  by  as  sharp  changes  as  mark  the 
periods  of  early  and  middle  adolescence,  are  in 
many  respects  the  most  important  years  of  the 
adolescent  period. 

Physically ,  growth  is  practically  attained  by 
the  time  a  young  person  reaches  the  eighteenth  or 
nineteenth  year.  Prom  this  time  on  the  blood, 
which  in  the  early  teens  was  used  to  grow  a 
body,  and  in  the  middle  teens  to  grow  a  brain,  is 
expended  in  the  development  of  strength  and 
agility.  At  this  time  the  body  is  well  under  con¬ 
trol  of  the  mind,  and  the  development  of  muscular 
tissue  is  rapid  and  easy.  All  the  physical  appetites 


98 


THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DEPARTMENT 


and  impulses  are  stronger  during  this  than  pre¬ 
ceding  periods ;  but,  if  development  has  been 
normal,  the  rapid  maturing  of  the  reason  and  will 
make  it  possible  for  young  people  to  bring  these 
appetites  and  impulses  under  control.  With  a 
well-developed  body,  expressing  in  all  its  activities 
an  abundant  physical  vigor,  the  young  man  or 
woman  guided  and  controlled  by  a  keen  intellect 
and  vigorous  will,  come  during  this  period  into  the 
full  heritage  of  maturity,  and  are  ready  to  make 
their  contribution  in  a  life  of  larger  service  to  the 
world  about  them. 

Intellectually ,  activity,  which  was  one  of  the 
most  marked  characteristics  of  the  preceeding 
period,  continues  in  this  and  becomes  more  intense. 
As  a  result  of  the  rapid  and  strong  functioning  of 
the  reason  powers  there  comes  a  spirit  of  in¬ 
dependence  and  a  gradual  diminishing  of  the  direct 
influence  of  teachers  and  companions  through  sug¬ 
gestion.  The  imitative  tendency  is  rapidly  pass¬ 
ing  due  to  the  fact  that  young  people  are  now 
setting  up  their  own  standards  of  life  and  con¬ 
duct,  and,  while  they  are  still  open  to  advice  and 
counsel,  they  accept  and  act  upon  only  such  sug¬ 
gestions  as  appeal  to  their  own  higher  intellectual 
powers.  Individuality  is  the  strongly  marked  char¬ 
acteristic  of  this  period.  Teachers  and  leaders 
must  depend  more  in  guiding  young  people  on  a 
strong  appeal  to  the  reason  than  to  the  emotion, 
or  to  an  authoritative  presentation  which  is  to  be 

99 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


accepted  without  a  question.  This  is  the  reason 
why  classes  of  young  people  should  not  be  too  large. 
Attention  must  be  given  to  individual  differences,  in¬ 
terests  and  difficulties.  Questions  must  be  answered 
in  the  light  of  life’s  larger  experiences;  doubts 
must  be  overcome,  and  methods  of  teaching  adopted 
that  will  not  antagonize  the  free  and  independent 
expression  of  individual  ideas  and  ideals. 

Socially,  the  altruistic  emotions  become  domi¬ 
nant  during  these  years.  Under  normal  environ¬ 
ment  and  with  the  right  kind  of  instruction  there 
is  a  steady  advance  from  selfishness  to  unselfish¬ 
ness  that  is  strong  and  beautiful.  Young  people, 
as  a  rule,  gladly  identify  themselves  with  the 
larger  social  life  of  which  they  form  a  part  and 
willingly  expend  their  time  and  energy  in  service 
for  others.  The  mating  instinct  which  manifests 
itself  in  home-building  is  at  the  flood-tide  during 
this  period.  The  d.esire  of  young  women  for  a 
“beau”  and  of  young  men  for  a  “sweetheart” 
is  natural,  necessary  and  wholesome,  for  this  is  the 
springtime  of  life,  the  period  of  wooing  and  mat¬ 
ing.  During  these  years  the  romantic  emotions  of 
middle  adolescence  become  the  permanent  and  last¬ 
ing  sentiments  of  maturity,  expressing  themselves 
in  home-building  and  thus  insuring  the  perpetua¬ 
tion  of  the  race.  Most  of  the  moral  tragedies  of 
these  years  grow  out  of  the  illicit  functioning  of 
the  mating  instinct,  due  many  times  to  the  en¬ 
vironment  in  which  young  people  are  compelled 

100 


THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DEPARTMENT 


to  mingle  and  mate.  Happy  is  that  group  of 
young  people  whose  homes  and  church  provide  a 
wholesome  place  for  the  functioning  of  this,  one 
of  the  deepest  and  most  fundamental  of  all  the 
instincts  of  the  adolescent,  period.  Professor 
Athearn  says:  “The  instinct  to  found  a  home  and 
to  live  for  one’s  family  is  sacred,  and  the  care 
and  interest  of  the  church  should  be  around  about 
youth  at  the  mating-time,  safeguarding  them  from 
danger  and  cultivating  the  highest  ideals  of 
marriage,  home  and  parenthood.  ’  ’ 1 

The  period  of  later  adolescence  is  distinctly  a 
period  of  disillusionment .  By  far  the  larger  num¬ 
ber  of  young  people  are  at  work  in  the  world  of 
business  and  industry,  a  few  are  idle  in  the  home, 
and  a  small  minority  away  at  college.  The  roseate 
dreams  and  ideals  of  earlier  years  are  a  decided 
contrast  to  the  stern  realities  of  life  as  they  meet 
them,  and  there  comes  as  a  result  disillusionment, 
and  a  necessary  readjustment  of  their  ideas  and 
ideals  in  regard  to  life.  This  changed  viewpoint, 
the  fact  that  so  many  of  them  are  away  from 
home  and  among  strangers,  the  lack  of  sympathy 
on  the  part  of  employers  and  employees,  the  un¬ 
supplied  need  for  social  intercourse,  fills  young 
people  with  intense  loneliness  and  despondency, 
and  often  drives  them  to  seek  relief  in  amusements 
that  are  unwholesome. 

1  The  Church  School  (p.  246). 


101 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


j Religiously,  this  period  is  a  period  of  doubt 
and  perplexity  because  the  age  of  independent 
thinking  has  come.  Dr.  Starbuck  says:  “Doubt  is 
a  process  of  mental  clarification ;  it  is  a  step  in  the 
process  of  self-mastery;  it  is  an  indication  that  all 
the  latent  powers  are  beginning  to  be  realized.  .  .  . 
Instead  of  trying  to  crush  doubt,  it  would  be 
wiser  to  inspire  earnestness  and  sincerity  of  pur¬ 
pose  in  the  use  of  it  for  the  discovery  of  truth.  ’  ’ 1 
Professor  Coe  says:  “What  the  adolescent  at  this 
time  most  wants,  after  all,  is  room — room  to  turn 
round  mentally ;  to  see  things  from  all  viewpoints ; 
room  for  the  many  new  thoughts  which  come 
crowding  in  at  this  time;  for  that  intellectual  and 
emotional  expansion  which  should  characterize  this 
latter  part  of  the  adolescent  period.  Such  a 
period  of  doubt,  intellectual  activity  and  physical 
reconstruction  is  of  great  value,  for  the  youth’s 
mental  aspirations  are  the  very  sap  of  the  tree  of 
knowledge.  ’  ’ 2 

Precisely  because  of  this  period  of  doubting 
there  should  be  in  every  church  a  department  for 
young  men  and  women  where  they  may  make  a 
serious  study  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  where 
they  may  freely  present  and  discuss  their  many 
difficulties  and  doubts,  that  as  a  result  of  such 
study  and  discussion  they  may  lay  a  sure  founda¬ 
tion  for  the  faith  that  is  within  them. 

1 Psychology  of  Religion  (pp.  242,  243). 

2  The  Spiritual  Life  (pp.  63,  64). 

102 


THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DEPARTMENT 


The  religion  of  young  people  is  exceedingly 
intense.  Their  quick  sympathy,  their  self-sacrific¬ 
ing  devotion,  their  intense  loyalty,  their  desire 
for  participation  in  any  and  every  attractive  cause, 
accounts  for  the  fact  that  so  large  a  number  of 
volunteers  for  the  ministry  and  mission  field  en¬ 
list  from  this  group.  It  seems  that  there  is  no 
task  too  large,  no  sacrifice  too  costly,  to  enlist  their 
interest,  their  co-operation,  their  support. 

“The  studies  of  Coe,  Starbuck  and  Hall  show 
that  the  last  important  wave  of  conversion  comes 
at  about  the  twentieth  year,  and  that  after  the 
thirtieth  year  only  one  in  a  thousand  ever  turns  the 
face  homeward  toward  God.  Every  effort  on  the 
part  of  the  church  should  be  concentrated  on  the 
securing  of  a  consecration  of  life  to  God  before  the 
close  of  the  adolescent  period.  ’  ’ 1 

Aims,  Standard  and  Tests. 

In  the  light  of  the  characteristics  just  noted, 
what  are  the  outstanding  needs  of  young  people, 
and  what  are  some  of  the  ways  in  which  the 
church  may  meet  these  needs? 

We  are  not  dealing  now  with  boys  and  girls  of 
high-school  age,  but  with  young  men  and  women 
who  are  almost  mature.  They  need,  therefore,  our 
confidence,  our  appreciation,  our  co-operation. 
They  should  have  a  place  and  a  part  in  the  pro- 

1  Atheara,  The  Church  School  (p.  245). 


103 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


gram  of  the  church ;  training  that  will  fit  them  for 
work  in  the  home,  the  local  church  and  the  com¬ 
munity  ;  course  of  study  selected  with  their  life 
needs  and  interests  in  mind;  a  separate  depart¬ 
mental  room,  if  possible,  affording  a  meeting-place 
for  constant  social  intercourse  (the  church,  open 
seven  days  and  nights  a  week,  if  necessary,  should 
be  the  social  center  for  young  people)  ;  and  fre¬ 
quent  challenges  to  enlist  in  the  great  kingdom¬ 
building  enterprises  of  the  home  and  foreign  fields. 

What  shall  our  aims  be  as  we  face  the  task  of 
meeting  the  needs  of  this  important  group  in  the 
church ’s  life  ? 

1.  To  win  to  Christ  each  young  person  who  has 
not  already  dedicated  his  or  her  life  to  Him. 

2.  To  help  these  young  people  maintain  their 
tested  Christian  ideals  in  relation  to  the  prac¬ 
tical  work  of  life  in  and  through  the  disillusion- 
ments  that  are  bound  to  result  as  they  face  the 
realities  of  economic  and  industrial  independence 
in  a  social  order  that  is  not  yet  wholly  Chris¬ 
tian. 

3.  To  prepare  them  for  and  to  help  them 
assume  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  home¬ 
making  and  citizenship. 

4.  To  prepare  them  for  and  help  them  assume 
their  place  in  the  work  of  life  (business,  profes¬ 
sional,  industrial),  that  in  and  through  their  daily 
work  they  may  do  the  will  of  God  and  help  to  pro¬ 
mote  His  kingdom  in  the  world. 

104 


THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DEPARTMENT 


5.  To  prepare  them  for  and  to  enlist  them  in 
the  work  of  the  church  for  the  community  and 
the  world.1 

6.  To  give  them  a  knowledge  of  Christian 
principles  in  choosing  a  life-work  or  vocation. 

7.  To  bring  to  them  a  realization  of  opportu¬ 
nities  for  life-work  that  are  open  in  the  field  of 
full-time  Christian  callings.2 

The  department  counselor  and  teachers  will 
need  to  keep  these  aims  constantly  in  mind ;  to 
weigh  and  evaluate  courses  of  study,  plans,  methods, 
activities;  to  see  that  all  that  is  done  contributes 
to  the  realization  of  these  aims,  not  for  the  sake 
of  the  aims,  but  for  the  sake  of  relating  the  life 
of  every  young  person  to  God  and  the  work  of  His 
kingdom  in  the  largest  way.  The  test  of  all  wor- 
ship ,  all  instruction,  all  training,  is  that  it  func¬ 
tion  in  life  in  the  home ,  church,  community  and 
world. 

Standards  of  content  are  as  essential  in  the 
Young  People’s  department  as  in  any  other.  They 
will  be  based  on  the  courses  of  study  in  use.  In¬ 
asmuch  as  several  elective  courses  are  available, 
it  is  not  within  the  province  of  this  chapter  to 
suggst  such  standards  here.  Teachers,  however, 
who  are  to  teach  these  elective  courses  will  find  it 

1  1917  Minutes  of  the  Sunday  School  Council  of  Evangelical  De¬ 
nominations  (p.  46). 

a  1923  Approved  Local  School  Standard  for  Young  People’s  Divi¬ 
sion,  Professional  Young  People’s  Work  Section,  International  Sunday 
School  Council  of  Religious  Education. 

105 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


advantageous  to  go  through  the  courses  of  study 
to  be  taught  in  advance  of  the  pupils,  and  to 
determine  what  portions  of  the  content  should  be¬ 
come  a  part  of  the  permanent  possession  of  young 
people.  They  will  make  progress  by  testing  the 
results  of  their  work  from  time  to  time  to  see  how 
largely  the  ideas  and  ideals  presented  are  being 
wrought  out  in  the  life  of  their  students.  It  is 
to  the  shame  of  the  church  that  so  few  young 
people  are  conscious  of  growth  (either  intellectual¬ 
ly  or  spiritually)  as  a  result  of  the  hours  spent  in 
all  the  various  organizations  of  the  church  and 
in  so-called  Christian  work. 

Organization. 

There  is  in  the  mind  of  young  people  (eighteen 
to  twenty-four)  a  sense  of  separateness  from  boys 
and  girls  of  high-school  age,  and  from  those  who 
have  already  taken  upon  themselves  the  responsi¬ 
bilities  of  adulthood.  This  group  consciousness 
exists.  It  may  be  seen  in  any  gathering  of  people 
in  city,  town  or  in  the  open  country.  Not  to  take 
advantage  of  it  invites  failure  in  the  church  or  in 
any  community  enterprise. 

The  organization  of  this  group  in  the  local 
church  should  be  thoroughly  democratic.  The  offi¬ 
cers  (president,  one  or  more  vice-presidents,  secre¬ 
tary  and  treasurer)  will  be  elected  annually  by 
the  young  people.  The  department  counselor  (ad¬ 
visory  superintendent)  is  usually  appointed  by  the 

106 


THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DEPARTMENT 


church  board,  the  Committee  on  Religious  Educa¬ 
tion,  or  whatever  body  or  group  selects  teachers 
and  officers  for  the  church’s  educational  work.  The 
wise  board  or  committee,  however,  will  look  with 
favor  upon  any  suggestion  that  the  young  people, 
themselves,  may  make  in  regard  to  the  department 
counselor.  The  committee  needed  to  carry  on  the 
work  will  vary  according  to  the  plan  of  correla¬ 
tion  in  operation.  If  the  unified  church-school 
plan  of  correlation  is  being  used,  then  the  follow¬ 
ing  committees  will  suffice:  Membership,  Mission¬ 
ary  (or  Service),  Recreation  (or  Social)  and  Pro¬ 
gram.  If  the  Department  of  Church  Life  plan  of 
correlation  is  being  used,  then  the  terms  Church- 
school  Committee,  Christian  Endeavor,  Epworth 
League  or  B.  Y.  P.  U.  Committee,  Missions  and 
Social  Service  Committee,  and  Social  Life  Com¬ 
mittee  will  be  preferred.  Other  committees  may 
be  appointed  or  constituted  from  time  to  time  as 
the  needs  of  the  department  require.  Some  Young 
People’s  departments  have  an  Employment  Com¬ 
mittee  whose  function  is  to  work  through  the  Em¬ 
ployment  Committee  of  the  church  in  locating  young 
people  in  the  employ  of  Christian  business  men 
and  women.  The  lower  diagram  on  page  110  shows 
the  Unified  Church  School  plan  of  correlation,  and 
the  upper  diagram  on  page  110  the  Department  of 
Church  Life  plan  of  correlation.1 

1  Used  by  permission  of  the  Department  of  Religious  Education 
of  the  United  Christian  Missionary  Society. 

107 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


In  work  with  young  people  of  eighteen  to 
twenty-four  the  department  unit  of  organization, 
not  the  class,  becomes  the  permanent  unit  of  organ¬ 
ization.  Perhaps  the  only  time  the  departmental 
group  will  break  up  into  smaller  units  is  for  class¬ 
room  work  on  Sunday.  The  class  organization 
will  not  be  permanent,  because  the  curricula  for 
young  people  consist  of  elective  courses,  ranging 
in  length  anywhere  from  ten  to  twelve  weeks  to 
three  years.  Several  of  these  elective  courses  may 
be  in  progress  in  the  same  school  at  a  given  time, 
the  young  people  choosing  the  course  in  which  they 
are  most  interested  and  joining  that  group  for  the 
period  of  the  course.  Wise  teachers  will  not 
attempt  to  keep  intact  a  permanent  class  organiza¬ 
tion,  but  will  use  their  influence  to  make  the 
department  organization,  life  and  spirit  as  strong 
as  possible.  Pupils  should  be  encouraged  to  elect 
during  the  six  or  eight  years  they  spend  in  the 
Young  People’s  department  a  number  of  different 
courses,  that  they  may  be  trained  along  many  lines, 
may  find  the  thing  they  can  do  best,  and  may  be 
helped  to  do  that  thing  in  the  most  efficient  manner. 
This  makes  it  possible  to  correlate  the  mission-study 
work  done  hitherto  in  connection  with  young 
ladies’  circles,  guilds,  etc.,  making  this  work  one 
or  more  of  the  elective  courses  offered  young  people 
in  connection  with  the  Sunday  session  of  the 
church’s  school. 


108 


THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DEPARTMENT 


Here,  as  in  the  work  of  the  Intermediate  and 
Senior  group,  the  leadership  of  the  Young  People’s 
department  of  the  church  school,  and  the  Young 
People’s  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor  (Epworth 
League,  or  B.  Y.  P.  U.),  should  he  unified,  and  the 
programs  of  worship,  instruction  and  activities 
correlated.  In  many  churches  this  will  necessitate 
a  grading  of  the  Young  People’s  Society  of  Chris¬ 
tian  Endeavor  (Epworth  League,  or  B.  Y.  P.  U.) 
to  correspond  with  the  period  of  later  adolescence. 
This  is  not  difficult,  however,  and  has  already  been 
done  in  a  large  number  of  churches  as  an  efficiency 
measure. 

Equipment  and  Program. 

A  separate  assembly-room  for  the  Young 
People’s  department  is  altogether  desirable,  because 
it  recognizes  the  group  consciousness  and  affords 
opportunity  in  training  young  people  for  leader¬ 
ship.  Where  such  a  room  is  available,  it  should 
be  used.  The  young  people  themselves  should  be  re¬ 
sponsible  both  for  planning  and  conducting  the  open¬ 
ing  service  of  the  church’s  school,  which  will  con¬ 
sist  of  songs,  prayers,  devotional  Bible  reading, 
short  talks  and  stories  and  missionary  instruction 
of  an  inspirational  character.  Where  no  such  room 
is  available,  the  Christian  Endeavor  session  of  the 
department  will  afford  some  opportunity  for  train¬ 
ing  young  people  in  self-expression.  Even  in  the 
very  small  church  meeting  in  a  one-room  building 

109 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


DEPARTMENT  Of  CHURCH-LIFE  PLAN  Of  CORRELATION  THRO  UNIFICATION 

I  C  H  U  R  C  H  I 


I  CHURCH  BOARD  I 


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and  Servloe  Activities 


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Sunday  A .  M 

Bible  Study  and  Correlated  subjects  -  Thru-the- 
week  -  Circle  or  Triangle  Club  Work 
Business  and  Recreational  Aotivltloe. 


*  Used  by 
of  the  United 


permission  of  the  Department  of  Religious  Education 
Christian  Missionary  Society. 

110 


THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DEPARTMENT 


where  there  is  but  one  class  of  young  people 
(eighteen  to  twenty-four),  some  separation  may  be 
worked  out  by  means  of  folding  screens  or  curtains. 

Ideal  equipment,  however,  will  provide  an  assem¬ 
bly-room  and  classrooms,  a  library  for  reference 
work,  blackboards,  a  musical  instrument,  maps, 
hymn-books  and  chairs.  Where  the  assembly-room 
must  be  used  for  classroom  purposes  also,  the  tab- 


TABLET  ABM-CHAIE* 


*Used  through  the  courtesy  of  the  American  Seating  Company 
Chicago,  Illinois. 

Ill 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


let  arm-chair  or  movable  assembly-room  chair 
shown  on  page  88  is  to  be  preferred.  The  walls  of 
the  department  should  he  adorned  with  a  few  well- 
chosen  and  well-framed  pictures.  The  following 
are  suggestive: 

‘  ‘  Christ  in  Gethsemane,  ’  ’  Hofmann. 

“Ecce  Homo,”  Ciseri 

“The  Light  of  the  World, ”  Hunt. 

“The  Last  Supper,”  da  Vinci. 

Pictures  of  great  missionaries  of  the  cross  will 
lind  their  place  also,  as  will  recreational  and 
service  posters. 

Programs  of  worship  for  young  people  should 
be  dignified  and  reverent.  Here,  as  in  the  other 
departments  of  the  Young  People’s  Division,  these 
programs  should  be  builded  around  unifying  ideas 
or  themes  that  have  a  more  or  less  universal  appeal 
to  the  life  needs  and  interests  of  young  people. 
See  Chapter  VII.  for  suggestive  programs  and 
materials. 

The  outstanding  need  of  the  church  to-day  is 
trained  leaders.  This  need  should  be  kept  in  mind 
in  planning  the  courses  of  study  for  young  people, 
for  in  this  department  are  to  be  found  the  teach¬ 
ers  and  leaders  that  must  man  the  educational  work 
of  the  church  of  to-morrow.  Bible  study,  teacher¬ 
training,  mission  study,  studies  in  personal  evan¬ 
gelism,  should  constitute  the  elective  courses  offered 
to  young  people.  What  elective  course  could  be 

finer  as  a  background  for  the  study  of  the  new 

112 


THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DEPARTMENT 


Standard  Teacher-training  Course  than  a  three 
months’  study  of  the  aims,  themes  and  content  of 
the  International  Graded  Lessons?  The  majority 
of  pieked-up  supply  teachers  from  young  people’s 
and  adult  classes  flounder  hopelessly  in  the  presen¬ 
tation  of  graded  lessons  because  they  do  not  know 
the  aims,  plan,  purpose  or  content  of  the  course 
of  lessons  they  are  attempting  to  teach.  The  fol¬ 
lowing  elective  courses  are  available  for  young 
people’s  classes: 

Bible. 

“The  Manhood  of  the  Master/ ’  Fosdick. 

“Life  of  Christ/’  Stalker. 

“Life  of  Christ,”  Farrar. 

“The  Character  of  Christ,  Fact  or  Fiction,”  Lhamon. 

“Social  Principles  of  Jesus,”  Rauschenbuseh. 

“Life  of  Paul,”  Farrar. 

“Studies  of  the  Books  of  the  Bible,”  Stevenson. 

“The  Meaning  of  Faith,”  Fosdick. 

“The  Meaning  of  Prayer,”  Fosdick. 

1 1  The  Meaning  of  Service,  ’  ’  Fosdick. 

“Life  of  Paul,”  Stalker. 

“Jesus’  Ideals  of  Living,”  Fiske. 

“A  Living  Book  in  a  Living  Age,”  Hough. 

Training. 

“The  Standard  Teacher-training  Course”  (interdenomi¬ 
national,  and  planned  in  units  of  ten  lessons  each.  A  diploma 
course). 

“The  Pilgrim  Preparatory  Course”  (one  year).1 

1 A  certificate  course  issued  by  the  Pilgram  Press,  Boston,  Mass. 
The  leader  of  the  class  will  find  “A  Guide  for  Teachers  of  Training 
Glasses”  helpful  with  thils  one-year  course. 

8  113 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


“  Leaders  of  Girls,  ”  Espey  (a  brief  course  of  training  for 
older  girls  as  leaders  of  younger  girls). 

‘ 1  Brothering  the  Boy,”  Rafferty  (a  brief  course  of  train¬ 
ing  for  older  boys  and  leaders  of  younger  boys). 

“ Jesus  the  Master  Teacher,”  Horne. 

“How  to  Plan  a  Lesson,”  Brown  (a  brief  course  on  les¬ 
son-building)  . 

Missions  and  Social  Service. 

“Servants  of  the  King,”  Speer. 

“Comrades  in  Service,”  Burton. 

“Men  and  Things, ”  Atkinson. 

“The  Lure  of  Africa,”  Patton. 

“The  Gospel  for  a  Working  World,”  Ward. 

“Ancient  Peoples  at  New  Tasks,”  Price. 

“India  on  the  March,”  Clark. 

“In  the  Vanguard  of  a  Race, ”  Hammond. 

“The  Trend  of  the  Races, ”  Haynes. 

1 1  Christianity  and  Economic  Problems, 1  ’  Page. 

“Playing  Square  with  To-morrow,”  Eastman. 

“The  Kingdom  and  the  Nations,”  North. 

Evangelism. 

“The  Art  of  Winning  Folks,”  Darsie. 

“II.  Timothy  2:  15,”  Pope. 

‘ 1  The  Human  Element  in  the  Making  of  a  Christian,  ’ y 
Conde. 

‘  ‘  Soul-winning,  ’  ’  Violette. 

“Studies  in  Bible  Truths,”  Kingsbury. 

In  addition  to  the  above  courses,  classes  may 
elect  any  one  or  all  three  years  of  the  International 
Graded  Lesson  series  for  young  people  eighteen, 
nineteen  and  twenty  years  of  age.  The  contents 
are  as  follows: 


114 


THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DEPARTMENT 


First  year,  “Old  Testament  History. ” 

Second  year,  “New  Testament  History. ’* 

Third  yea,r,  “The  Bible  and  Social  Living. 

Or  the  Improved  Uniform  Lessons.  Other  elective 
courses  for  young  people  are  being  released  from 
time  to  time.  The  College  Voluntary  Study 
Courses  published  by  Association  Press,  347  Madi¬ 
son  Ave.,  New  York  City,  offer  a  wide  range  of 
splendid  elective  studies  for  college  young  people’s 
classes. 

Activities. 

The  constant  cry  for  social  intercourse  indicates 
the  ever-present  need  of  the  later  adolescent  period 
for  social  recreation.  The  mating  and  home-mak¬ 
ing  instinct  demands  it.  The  home,  of  course, 
would  be  an  ideal  meeting-place  for  young  people, 
but  many  of  these  older  boys  and  girls  are  board¬ 
ing,  and  those  who  are  in  their  own  homes  do  not 
always  find  the  home  available.  Commercial  in¬ 
terests  have  been  quick  to  see  this  need  for  con¬ 
stant  social  intercourse,  and  in  the  poolrooms, 
dance-halls,  theaters,  amusement  parks,  saloons, 
etc.,  are  providing  the  meeting-place  for  hun¬ 
dreds  and  thousands.  There  is  no  good  reason  why 
young  people  should  be  found  in  these  places  in  so 
large  numbers  except  that  the  home  and  church  are 
so  often  closed  to  them.  The  social  instincts  of 
young  people  are,  as  a  rule,  clean  and  wholesome. 
It  is  the  duty  of  the  home  and  church  to  co- 

115 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


operate  in  keeping  them  so,  by  providing  a  meet¬ 
ing-place  for  these  young  people,  and  then  seeing 
to  it  that  amusements  of  the  right  sort  are  offered. 
(See  Chapters  VI.  and  IX.  for  plans  and  sugges¬ 
tive  activities.) 

Then,  too,  these  young  people  need  not  only 
sane  and  safe  amusements,  but  a  place  and  a  part 
in  the  work  of  the  church  in  the  community.  They 
should  be  set  to  work,  studying  the  conditions  in 
their  communities  and  planning  definite  ways  in 
which  the  needs  discovered  may  be  met.  They 
should  have  their  place  in  the  every-member  canvass, 
evangelistic  campaigns,  community  surveys,  build¬ 
ing-fund  projects,  anything  and  everything  that 
deals  with  the  life  of  the  church  in  the ‘community. 
From  time  to  time  these  young  people  should  be 
brought  face  to  face  with  the  great  world  calls  for 
service.  The  Christian  physician,  minister,  lawyer, 
nurse,  social  settlement  worker  and  returned  mis¬ 
sionary  should  come  before  these  young  people 
en  masse  assembly,  challenging  them  to  a  dedica¬ 
tion  of  life  in  service  to  the  world.  The  missionary 
committee  of  the  church  and  church  school  can  do 
no  more  effective  service  than  to  keep  attractive 
posters,  charts  and  reports  constantly  before  the 
attention  of  this  potential  group.  Young  people 
are  willing  to  pour  out  their  lives  to  the  fullest 
upon  any  and  every  object  that  commands  their 
love  and  loyalty.  The  church  ought  not  to  let  this 
devotion  to  sacrificial  service  go  unchallenged. 

116 


THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DEPARTMENT 


Teachers  and  Counselor. 

The  power  of  the  teacher  and  leader  of  young 
people  is  past  all  ability  to  compute.  Willing¬ 
ness  and  the  ability  to  be  in  every  sense  a  com¬ 
panion  to  young  people  is  the  chief  characteristic 
needed;  for  there  never  is  a  time  when  the  in¬ 
direct  influence  of  the  teacher  and  leader  counts 
for  more.  These  young  people  have  passed  the 
period  when  the  teacher  may  dictate.  They  are 
able  now  to  do  their  own  thinking  and  planning; 
but  oh !  how  they  do  need  the  kindly  counsel  of  a 
friend  who  has  been  a  bit  farther  along  the  path¬ 
way  of  human  experience  to  help  them  interpret 
disappointment  and  disillusionment  in  the  way  that 
shall  mean  most  to  their  own  growth  and  develop¬ 
ment. 

The  department  counselor’s  chief  work  will 
be  in  helping  young  people  to  plan  their  depart¬ 
mental  activities  on  a  large  scale.  Upon  his  or  her 
shoulders  rests  the  task  of  seeing  to  it  that  the 
department  becomes  more  than  just  a  group  of 
young  people  meeting  together  more  or  less  regular¬ 
ly  for  good  times .  Good  times  are  necessary,  and 
they  will  become  a  regular  feature  of  the  depart¬ 
ment’s  program,  but  both  teachers  and  counselor 
have  failed  unless  these  young  people  are  won  to 
Christ ,  trained  for  service ,  and  enlisted  in  His 
great  kingdom-building  enterprise.  The  law  of  the 
department  counselor  and  teachers  in  working 

117 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


with  young  people  must  always  be:  I  must  decrease, 
that  thou  mayest  increase.  Successful  indeed  is 
that  counselor  and  teacher  who  leads  without  young 
people  being  conscious  of  his  or  her  leadership. 

Regular  meetings  of  the  department  council 
will  need  to  be  held  monthly  to  plan  and  outline 
programs  and  methods  of  procedure.  Any  plan 
or  program  outlined,  however,  should  be  brought  to 
the  whole  department  for  discussion  and  adoption 
before  being  launched,  so  that  the  whole  group 
may  work  intelligently  and  co-operatively  in  bring¬ 
ing  to  pass  the  desired  results.  It  is  well  for  the 
president  of  the  department  to  appoint  a  poster 
committee,  from  time  to  time,  to  feature  in  an 
attractive  way  recreational  and  service  programs 
and  activities  that  have  been  approved  and  adopted 
as  a  working  policy.  These  posters  may  be  hung 
in  the  department  room,  the  vestibule  of  the  church, 
and  in  the  publicity  centers  of  the  community. 

TEACHING  OUTLINE. 

Scope. 

1.  Young  people  approximately  eighteen  to  twenty-four 
years  of  age. 

(1)  In  the  practical  working  out  of  the  education  pro¬ 
gram  for  the  group  in  local  church,  it  will  probably 
contain  all  the  young,  unmarried  people  under 
thirty  years  of  age. 

Characteristics  of  Pupils. 

1.  Physically: 

(1)  Growth  practically  attained  by  time  young  people 
reach  the  eighteenth  year. 

118* 


1 


Community  Class  of  Teachers  Specializing  in  Work  with  Teen-age  Girls 


THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DEPARTMENT 


(2)  Blood  released  from  the  growth  of  organs  to  be  ex¬ 
pended  in  development  of  strength  and  agility. 

(3)  All  physical  appetites  and  impulses  stronger  than 
during  the  preceding  years. 

2.  Intellectually: 

(1)  Activity,  both  physical  and  intellectual,  a  marked 
characteristic  of  these  years. 

(2)  A  spirit  of  independence,  due  to  rapid  functioning 
of  reason  and  will  centers,  which  gradually  di¬ 
minishes  the  direct  influence  of  teachers  and  com¬ 
panions  through  suggestion. 

(3)  Leaders  must  depend  more,  in  guiding  young  peo¬ 
ple,  on  strong  appeal  to  the  reason  rather  than  to 
emotions. 

(4)  Think  for  themselves,  therefore  attention  must  be 
given  to  individual  differences,  interests  and  diffi¬ 
culties. 

3.  Socially: 

(1)  Young  people  gladly  identify  themselves  with  the 
larger  social  life  of  which  they  form  a  part. 

(2)  Should  be  a  steady  advance  from  selfishness  to  un¬ 
selfishness. 

(3)  Mating  instinct  which  manifests  itself  in  home- 
building  is  at  flood-tide  during  these  years. 

(a)  .Romantic  emotions  of  middle  adolescence  be¬ 
come  the  permanent  and  lasting  affections  of 
maturity. 

(4)  Most  of  the  moral  tragedies  grow  out  of  illicit 
functioning  of  the  mating  instinct,  due  to  im¬ 
proper  environment  under  which  young  people  are 
compelled  to  mingle  and  mate. 

4.  Religiously: 

(1)  Disillusionment  with  the  necessary  readjustment  of 
ideas  and  ideals  in  regard  to  life. 

(2)  Doubt  and  perplexity  because  the  age  of  indepen¬ 
dent  thinking  has  come. 

119 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


(a)  Not  wrong — a  natural  process — a  step  in  the 
process  of  self-mastery — an  indication  that  all 
the  latent  powers  of  the  individual  are  begin¬ 
ning  to  be  realized. 

(3)  Quick  sympathy,  self-sacrificing  devotion,  intense 
loyalty,  desire  for  participation  in  every  worthy 
cause  accounts  for  fact  that  largest  number  of  de¬ 
cisions  for  distinctly  Christian  vocations  are  made 
during  these  years. 

(4)  Last  important  wave  of  conversion  comes  at  about 
the  twentieth  year. 

Aims,  Standards  and  Tests. 

1.  Aims: 

(1)  Should  be  able  to  give  the  seven  aims  as  listed  on 
pages  104,  105  of  1 1  Youth  and  the  Church.  ” 

2.  Standards: 

(1)  Department  superintendent  or  counselor  and  teach¬ 
ers  need  to  keep  aims  in  mind,  to  weigh  and  eval¬ 
uate  courses  of  study,  plans,  methods  and  activi¬ 
ties  to  see  that  all  that  is  done  contributes  to  reali¬ 
zation  of  these  aims,  not  for  sake  of  the  aims,  but 
with  purpose  of  relating  the  life  of  every  young 
person  to  God  and  work  of  His  kingdom  in  the 
largest  way. 

(2)  Standards  of  content  as  essential  in  young  people’s 
department  as  in  any  other. 

(a)  With  elective  courses  in  mind,  each  teacher, 
with  the  class  officers,  should  work  out  a  per¬ 
manent  standard  of  content  that  during  the 
year  should  become  a  part  of  pupils’  perma¬ 
nent  possession. 

3.  Tests: 

(1)  Test  of  all  worship,  instruction  and  training  is  that 
it  function  in  service  in  the  home,  church,  com¬ 
munity  and  world. 

120 


THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DEPARTMENT 


(a)  Teachers  need  to  keep  individual  record  of 
growth  and  development  of  this  service  ideal 
in  lives  of  young  people. 

Organization. 

1.  A  natural  sense  of  separateness  from  boys  and  girls  of 
early  and  middle  adolescent  periods. 

(1)  This  group  consciousness  exists  and  should  be  rec¬ 
ognized  by  the  local  church. 

2.  Organization  of  this  group  should  be  thoroughly  demo¬ 
cratic. 

(1)  Worked  out  in  counsel  with  young  people. 

3.  The  departmental  organization,  not  the  class,  owing  to 
elective  courses  of  study,  becomes  the  permanent  unit  of  or¬ 
ganization  in  these  years. 

(1)  Make  the  departmental  organization,  life  and  spirit 
as  strong  as  possible,  because  young  people  need 
the  wider  social  group. 

4.  A  correlated  organization  and  program  the  easiest  way 
to  reach  and  realize  the  goals. 

(1)  Plan  suggested  on  page  110,  in  ‘  ‘Youth  and  the 
Church,  ”  should  be  discussed  with  adaptations. 

Equipment  and  Program. 

1.  A  separate  assembly-room  for  this  group  altogether  de¬ 
sirable. 

(1)  Young  people  themselves  should  be  responsible  for 
building  and  conducting  the  program,  both  for  the 
church  school,  C.  E.  expressional  service  and  mis¬ 
sionary  and  social  activities. 

2.  Ideal  equipment  will  provide  an  assembly-room  and 
classrooms,  a  library  for  reference-books,  blackboards,  musical 
instrument,  hymn-books,  chairs,  pictures,  department  mottoes 
and  posters. 

(2)  Suggested  pictures: 

“Christ  in  Gethsemane, * ’  Hofmann. 

121 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


‘  ‘  Ecee  Homo,  ’  ’  Ciseri. 

“The  Light  of  the  World/’  Hunt. 

“The  Last  Supper,”  da  Vinci. 

3.  Programs  of  worship  should  be  reverent  and  dignified. 
See  Chapter  VII.  for  suggested  programs  and  materials. 

4.  Program  of  instruction  should  give  young  people  the 
opportunity  to  elect  any  one  of  several  elective  courses,  as 
follows: 

(1)  Biblical: 

“Life  of  Christ,”  Farrar  or  Stalker. 

“Life  of  Paul,”  Farrar  or  Stalker. 

“Character  Christ,  Fact  or  Fiction,’  Lhamon. 
“Social  Principles  of  Jesus,”  Bauschenbusch. 
“Studies  of  Books  of  Bible,”  Stevenson. 

“Jesus’  Ideals  of  Living,”  Fiske. 

“A  Living  Book  in  a  Living  Age,”  Hough. 

“ Meaning  of  Faith,”  “Meaning  of  Prayer,” 
<  1  Meaning  of  Service,  ’  ’  and  1 1  The  Manhood  of  the 
Master,”  Fosdick. 

(2)  Missionary: 

1 1  Servants  of  the  King,  ’  ’  Speer. 

“Men  and  Things,”  Atkinson. 

“The  Lure  of  Africa,”  Patton. 

“Gospel  for  a  Working  World,”  Ward. 

“Ancient  Peoples  at  New  Tasks,”  Price. 
“Building  with  India,”  Clark. 

“In  the  Vanguard  of  a  Bace,”  Hammond. 

‘ 1  The  Trend  of  the  Baces,  ’  ’  Haynes. 
“Christianity  and  Economic  Problems,”  Page. 
“Playing  Square  with  To-morrow,”  Eastman. 

(3)  Evangelism: 

“II.  Timothy  2:  15,”  Pope. 

“The  Human  Element  in  the  Making  of  a  Chris¬ 
tian,”  Conde. 

1 1  Soul-winning,  ’  ’  Violette. 

“The  Art  of  Winning  Folks,”  Darsie. 

122 


THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DEPARTMENT 


“Studies  in  Bible  Truths/ ’  Kingsbury. 

(4)  Training  courses: 

“The  Standard  Teacher-training  Course’ ’  (three 
year,  interdenominational,  and  planned  in  units  of 
ten  lessons  each.  A  diploma  course). 

“Leaders  of  Girls,”  Espey  (a  course  for  the 
training  of  older  girls  as  leaders  of  younger  girls). 
“Brothering  the  Boy,”  Rafferty  (a  course  of 
training  for  young  men  as  leaders  of  younger 
boys). 

“Jesus  the  Master  Teacher,”  Horne. 

“How  to  Plan  a  Lesson,”  Brown  (a  brief  course 
on  lesson-building). 

(5)  Other  special  courses: 

International  Graded  Lessons  (three  one-year 
courses). 

“Old  Testament  History  and  Literature.” 

“New  Testament  History  and  Literature.” 

“The  Bible  and  Social  Living.” 

College  Voluntary  Study  Courses: 

First  year: 

“Students’  Standards  of  Action,”  Eliot-Cu.tler. 
“Christian  Standards  of  Life,”  Murray-Harris. 
Second  year: 

“A  Life  at  Its  Best,”  Edwards-Cutler. 

“A  Challenge  to  Life  Service,”  Harris-Robbins. 
Third  year  (in  course  of  preparation). 

Fourth  year: 

“The  Social  Principles  of  Jesus,”  Rauschenbusch. 
“Christianizing  the  Community,”  Ward-Edwards. 

Activities. 

1.  Constant  clamor  for  social  intercourse  indicates  the 
ever-present  need  of  later  adolescents  for  social  recreation. 
(1)  See  Chapters  VI.  and  IX.  for  plans  and  suggestive 
activities. 


123 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


2.  A  place  and  a  part  in  work  of  the  church  in  the  commu¬ 
nity  and  world. 

(1)  Every-member  canvass. 

(2)  Sunday  evening  and  mid-week  church  services. 

(3)  Evangelistic  campaigns,  community  surveys,  build¬ 
ing  projects,  anything  and  everything  that  deals 
with  the  life  of  the  church  in  the  community. 

(4)  Frequent  challenges  to  face  the  great  world  calls 
for  Christian  service. 

Teachers  and  Counselors. 

1.  Power  of  teacher  and  leader  of  young  people  past  all 
ability  to  compute. 

2.  Willingness  and  the  ability  to  be  in  every  sense  a  com¬ 
panion  the  chief  characteristic  needed. 

(1)  Never  a  time  when  indirect  influence  of  teacher  or 
leader  counts  for  more. 

3.  Chief  work  is  in  helping  young  people  to  plan  their 
class  and  departmental  activities  on  a.  large  scale. 

(1)  Must  plan  work  and  activities  so  that  young  people 
will  be: 

(a)  Won  to  Christ. 

(b)  Trained  for  service. 

(c)  Enlisted  in  His  great  kingdom-building  enter¬ 
prise. 

4.  Regular  meetings  of  the  department  council  will  need  to 
be  held  monthly  to  plan  and  outline  programs  and  methods 
of  procedure. 

(1)  Programs  outlined  should  be  brought  before  whole 
department  so  that  the  entire  group  may  work  in¬ 
telligently  and  co-operatively  in  bringing  to  pass 
desired  results. 

(a)  Poster  committee  to  feature  in  attractive  way  rec¬ 
reational  and  service  activities  that  have  been  ap¬ 
proved  will  help  to  bring  results. 

124 


THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DEPARTMENT 


QUESTIONS  FOR  STUDY  AND  DISCUSSION. 

1.  Give  five  characteristics  of  young  people  in  the  later 
adolescent  period. 

2.  Give  the  seven  aims  of  the  young  people’s  department. 

3.  What  is  the  test  of  all  worship,  instruction  and  ex- 
pressional  activities  for  young  people? 

4.  Name  at  least  ten  good  elective  courses  of  study  for 
young  people’s  classes. 

5.  Discuss  “equipment”  and  “program”  for  the  young 
people’s  department. 

6.  Name  five  church  activities  in  which  young  people  should 
be  given  a  place  and  a  part. 

7.  What  three  goals  should  be  accomplished  by  teachers 
and  leaders  of  young  people  during  the  adolescent  years. 


125 


V 


THE  ORGANIZED  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  DIVI¬ 
SION  CLASS 

PlJBPOSE. 

INVESTIGATIONS  show  that  practically  75  per 
cent,  of  the  boys  and  girls  in  any  given  com¬ 
munity  are,  or  have  been  during  the  teen  years, 
a  member  of  some  sort  of  a  gang,  class,  club, 
clique,  team  or  set.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that 
the  social  or  group  instinct  is  a  natural  one. 
During  the  period  of  early  adolescence  (12-14) 
the  group  is  small,  as  a  rule,  ranging  anywhere 
from  seven  or  eight  to  fourteen.  During  the  pe¬ 
riod  of  middle  adolescence  (15-17)  the  group 
widens  a  bit,  and  by  the  time  young  people  have 
reached  the  later  adolescent  period  the  group  con¬ 
sciousness  has  sufficiently  widened  as  to  make  the 
department,  not  the  class,  the  natural  unit  of 
organization. 

The  purpose  of  class  and  department  organiza¬ 
tion  is  to  take  advantage  of  this  natural,  God- 
given  social  or  group  instinct  that  comes  with 
adolescence,  and  to  form  within  the  church,  and 

as  an  integral  part  of  the  church ’s  educational 

126 


YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DIVISION  GLASS 


program,  organizations  that  will  make  the  largest 
possible  appeal  to  this  budding  social  instinct, 
thereby  challenging  the  loyalty  and  support  of 
young  people  to  the  church  and  the  church’s 
school. 

The  organized  Young  People’s  (Secondary) 
Division  class  is  an  integral  part  of  the  church, 
the  church’s  school  and  the  department  with  which 
it  is  connected.  It  is  not  a  separate  organization 
distinct  and  apart  from  these  larger  bodies,  but 
rather  a  small  group  within  these  larger  ones, 
organized  for  the  purpose  of  developing  initiative 
and  of  training  boys  and  girls  and  young  people 
for  definite  Christian  service. 

Advantages. 

The  organized  class  in  the  hands  of  young 
people,  when  its  organization  and  activities  are 
planned  largely  by  them,  and  its  discipline,  when 
necessary,  administered  by  them,  has  very  decided 
advantages  over  the  unorganized  class,  because 

1.  It  utilizes  the  social  or  group  instinct,  pro¬ 
viding  an  effectual  channel  through  which  to  train 
boys  and  girls  in  Christian  conduct  and  service. 

2.  It  develops  leadership  by  fixing  responsi¬ 
bility.  What  is  everybody’s  business  is  nobody’s 
business.  The  unorganized  class  is  always  a 
“ one-man”  (usually  a  “one-woman”)  affair.  Or¬ 
ganization  transforms  the  class  from  a  teacher  en¬ 
terprise  to  a  pupil,  by  making  each  member  share 

127 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


in  the  management  and  direction  of  its  activities. 

3.  It  utilizes  the  energy,  ambition,  the  desire  to 
do  things,  so  characteristic  of  young  people. 

4.  It  increases  class  spirit,  loyalty  to  the  church 
and  the  church’s  school. 

5.  It  encourages  mutual  sympathy,  interest  and 
understanding,  and  strengthens  the  position  of  the 
teacher,  enabling  him  to  become,  more  and  more, 
the  friend  and  counselor  of  young  people. 

Standards. 

But  some  may  raise  the  question:  When  is  a 
Young  People’s  Division  class  properly  organized? 

1.  WHhen  it  has  enough  officers  and  committees 
to  successfully  carry  on  its  work,  each  actively  ful¬ 
filling  its  separate  function. 

2.  When  it  is  definitely  connected  with,  and 
form  a  part  of,  some  church  or  church  school. 

3.  When  it  has  regular  Sunday  and  through- 
the-week  (at  least  once  a  month)  meetings. 

4.  When  the  age  limits  of  the  class  are  not 
under  twelve  nor  more  than  twenty-four  years 
(12-14,  15-17,  18-24  are  preferred  groupings  where 
there  are  not  enough  pupils  to  form  one  class  for 
each  year). 

5.  WThen  it  has  a  definite  goal  and  a  working 
program  for  a  given  period  of  time. 

Aims. 

Class  organization  is  of  no  value,  however,  un¬ 
less  the  class  has  some  very  definite  aim,  objec- 

128 


YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DIVISION  GLASS 


tive  or  goal.  The  class  should  share  these  aims 
with  the  teacher,  and  should  see  the  organization 
as  the  channel  through  which  these  aims  are  to  be 
accomplished.  The  aims  of  the  organized  Young 
People’s  Division  class  should  be: 

1.  To  win  the  members  of  the  class  to  personal 
allegiance  to  Jesus  Christ  as  Lord  and  Saviour. 

2.  To  train  the  individual  members  of  the  class 
through  Bible  study  and  correlated  subjects,  Chris¬ 
tian  conduct,  recreation  and  service,  to  embody 
within  themselves  the  Christ  ideal.1 

Plan  of  Organization. 

The  following  outline  gives  in  general  a  plan 
of  organization  that  may  be  changed  and  adapted 
to  meet  the  needs  of  any  group  of  adolescent  boys 
and  girls: 

I.  Officers  (the  officers,  except  the  teacher,  are  elected 

by  the  boys  and  girls  from  among  their  own  number)  : 

1.  President. 

2.  Vice-president. 

3.  Secretary. 

4.  Treasurer. 

5.  Teacher  (appointed  by  whatever  body  or  committee  se¬ 
lects  teachers  and  officers  for  the  church  school). 

II.  Committees  (as  many  as  are  necessary  to  carry  on 

its  work.  The  following  are  suggestive) : 

1.  Recreation  or  Social. 

2.  Membership. 

3.  Missionary  or  Service. 

1  Alexander,  The  Boy  and  the  Sunday  School  (p.  76). 

9  •  129 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


4.  Executive. 

(1)  The  Executive  Committee  is  made  up  of  the  officers 
of  the  class  aud  the  chairmen  of  standing  or  short¬ 
term  committees.  The  pastor  and  department 
counselor  are  ex-officio  members  of  the  Executive 
Committees  of  all  the  organized  classes  of  a  de¬ 
partment. 

5.  Short-term  committees  may  be  appointed  from  time  to 
time,  and,  if  the  class  prefers,  all  its  committees  ex¬ 
cept  the  Executive  may  be  short-term. 

III.  Meetings: 

1.  Sunday  session  (should  be  forty  to  forty-five  minutes 
in  length,  thirty  minutes  of  which  should  be  devoted 
to  lesson  study). 

(1)  Program: 

A.  Opening  service:  Prayer,  report  of  secretary, 
reports  of  committees. 

B.  Lesson  period. 

C.  Closing  service. 

2.  Weekly,  monthly  or  semi-monthly  session. 

(1)  Program: 

A.  Varied  to  meet  the  physical,  intellectual,  so¬ 
cial  and  service  needs  and  interests  of  young 
people. 

B.  The  program  of  activities  is  usually  blocked  out 
by  the  Executive  Committee  for  a  period  of 
three,  six  or  nine  months  at  a  time. 

(a)  Submitted  to  the  whole  class  for  discussion 
and  adoption. 

(b)  Details  turned  over  to  the  proper  committee 
for  execution. 

C.  The  character  of  the  activity  determines,  as  a 

rule,  the  place  of  the  meeting. 

IV.  Activities: 

1.  Activities  for  young  people  should  touch  every  phase 
and  interest  of  boy  and  girl  life. 

130 


YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DIVISION  CLASS 


2.  They  should  be  planned  largely  by  the  young  people 
and  should  interrelate  the  work  of  the  Sunday  session 
with  the  through -the-week  life  and  interests  of  pupils. 
(See  Chapter  YI.  for  plans  and  materials.) 

All  the  sessions  of  organized  classes  should  be 
in  charge  of  the  president  or  vice-president,  not 
the  teacher.  The  opening  service  on  Sunday  will 
consist  of  a  short  prayer  by  the  president,  by  some 
member  of  the  class,  or  by  the  whole  class  in 
unison.  Short,  individual,  Scripture-sentence  pray¬ 
ers  by  members  are  to  be  encouraged.  This  will 
be  followed  by  the  reading  of  brief  minutes  by 
the  secretary,  covering  the  Sunday  (last)  and 
mid-week  or  month  activities,  points  brought  out 
by  the  teachers  in  the  last  lesson,  offering,  atten¬ 
dance,  etc.  The  secretary  of  the  class  should  be 
provided  with  a  note-book  and  asked  to  keep  the 
minutes  of  all  meetings  in  writing.  In  this  way 
the  future  secretaries  for  all  phases  of  Christian 
work  may  be  trained  for  this  important  service. 
Chairmen  of  standing  or  short-term  committees 
should  then  be  called  upon  for  brief  one-minute  re¬ 
ports.  Classes  should  make  it  their  rule  not  to 
transact  any  matters  of  business  in  the  Sunday  ses¬ 
sion  that  could  go  over  to  the  through-the-week  or 
month  meetings,  but  announcements  that  have  to  do 
with  class  interests  and  activities  should  be  made  in 
connection  with  the  opening  service  of  the  Sunday 
session.  If  the  program  of  activities  has  been 
blocked  out  in  advance,  it  will  require  but  a  minute 

131 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


for  the  president  and  chairman  of  committees  to 
call  attention  to  the  meetings  and  work  of  the  week 
or  month. 

At  the  close  of  the  opening  service  the  teacher 
takes  charge  of  the  class,  presenting  the  lesson, 
unless  that  work  has  been  assigned,  for  the  day, 
to  some  other  person  or  group,  directing  the 
development  of  the  lesson  and  making  assignments 
with  reference  to  the  lesson  or  lessons  that  are  to 
follow. 

The  closing  service  of  the  class  is  in  charge  of 
the  president  or  vice-president.  It  will  consist  of 
sentence  prayers,  silent  prayer,  or  concert  prayer. 
Some  classes  have  formally  adopted  some  Scripture 
prayer,  changing  the  wording  so  that  it  meets  the 
needs  of  the  group;  e.  g.,  “May  the  words  of  our 
mouths  and  the  meditations  of  our  hearts  he  ac¬ 
ceptable  in  thy  sight,  0  Lord,  our  strength  and 
our  redeemer.”  (Ps.  19:14.) 

How  to  Organize. 

Read  carefully  the  paragraphs  on  the  purpose, 
advantages,  standards,  aims,  and  plan  of  organ¬ 
ization.  Then  think  the  whole  matter  through  from 
the  viewpoint  of  your  pupils.  Try  to  put  your¬ 
self  in  their  place.  Ask  yourself  whether  or  not 
there  is  anything  in  this  plan  of  organization  that 
will  help  young  people  to  develop  into  more  efficient 
Christians.  You,  yourself,  must  believe  thoroughly 
and  enthusiastically  in  the  organized  class  as  a 

132 


YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DIVISION  GLASS 


means  of  individual  and  group  development ,  before 
you  are  ready  to  attempt  the  organization  of  your 
class,  or  can  hope  to  enlist  their  interest  and  co¬ 
operation. 

When  you  are  persuaded  that  the  organized- 
class  plan,  intelligently  carried  out,  does  offer  its 
members  the  best  possible  means  of  growth  and 
development,  call  together  two  or  three  of  the 
natural  leaders  in  your  class  and  talk  the  plan 
over  with  them.  Follow  this  with  a  meeting  of  the 
whole  class.  If  possible,  get  one  of  the  natural 
group  leaders  to  present  the  plan  of  organization 
to  the  entire  group.  It  usually  means  that  this 
natural  leader  is  made  the  first  president  of  the 
class. 

Whatever  you  do,  in  your  co-operative  leader¬ 
ship  of  boys  and  girls  in  their  teens,  do  not  dis¬ 
courage  their  initiative  by  arbitrarily  deciding  their 
own  questions  for  them.  The  name  of  the  class, 
the  type  and  purpose  of  organization  and  the  per¬ 
sonnel  of  its  officiary  are  matters  in  which  they  are 
vitally  interested  and  which  they  themselves  should 
help  to  work  out.  The  teen-age  boy  and  girl 
take  delight  in  doing  their  own  thinking.  All 
they  ask  for  is  sympathetic  help.  Teen-age  boys 
and  girls  are  just  at  the  period  when  they  will  be 
best  developed  by  doing  things  for  themselves. 
Cafl  out  in  as  large  a  measure  as  possible  the  initia¬ 
tive  of  the  members  of  the  class  in  perfecting  the 
organization.  Let  them  select  their  own  class 

133 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


officers,  name,  motto;  work  out  their  own  constitu¬ 
tion,  pennants,  posters,  etc. 

When  the  organization  has  been  effected,  the 
duties  of  the  officers  and  committees  understood, 
then  make  the  organization  genuine  by  putting  the 
work  of  the  class  into  the  hands  of  boys  and  girls, 
all  details  to  be  carried  out  by  them.  The  teacher, 
in  just  as  large  a  measure  as  possible,  should  keep 
in  the  background. 

Class  Groupings. 

The  experience  of  many  workers  indicates  that 
the  best  results  with  adolescents  are  to  be  obtained 
when  the  class  group  is  small,  varying  in  size 
from  seven  or  eight  to  fourteen  or  sixteen.  We 
have  already  noted  that  classes  in  the  Young 
People’s  department  will  be  determined  by  the 
number  electing  to  take  any  particular  course  of 
study.  Classes,  however,  under  no  circumstances 
should  be  so  large  as  to  make  it  impossible  for  the 
teacher  to  know  and  to  give  personal  attention  to 
the  individual  members. 

Neither  is  it  possible  to  get  the  best  results 
when  pupils  from  twelve  to  eighteen  years  of  age 
are  members  of  the  same  class,  for  they  are  living 
in  different  periods  of  development.  Such  a  group¬ 
ing  makes  it  impossible  for  the  program  of  the 
class  to  meet  the  needs  of  both  the  older  and 
younger  pupils.  A  good  working  basis  is  (12-14), 
(15-17),  (18-24  plus).  This  is  merely  suggestive. 

134 


YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DIVISION  GLASS 


The  correct  grouping  ought  to  consider  physical 
and  intellectual  development  as  well  as  age,  and 
adjustments  should  be  made  so  that  the  boy  or  girl 
is  permitted  to  find  his  or  her  natural  group. 

In  working  with  boys  and  girls  from  twelve  to 
eighteen  years  of  age,  it  is  generally  conceded  that 
there  should  be  no  mixed  classes  (boys  and  girls 
together).  In  the  Young  People’s  department  the 
sexes  will  be  mixed  or  segregated  according  to  the 
content  of  courses  of  study  offered. 

Equipment. 

Separate  classrooms  for  every  class  in  the 
Young  People’s  Division  is  the  ideal,  and  it  is  to 
be  hoped  that  the  church  of  the  future,  in  planning 
for  its  educational  work,  may  reach  that  ideal. 
Where  this  is  not  possible,  screened  or  curtained 
spaces  will  help  to  make  the  teaching  and  training 
of  the  organized  class  effective.  Ideal  equipment 
for  Intermediate,  Senior  and  Young  People’s  classes 
will  include  a  room,  a  blackboard,  maps,  Bibles, 
pictures,  curios,  pads  of  paper  for  note-taking, 
pencils,  and  tables  around  which  the  pupils  may 
gather  for  study  and  work,  or  the  broad-armed 
tablet  or  assembly-room  chairs  (see  pp.  88-111  for 
diagrams).  The  Moulthrop  table  chair  desk,1  which 
is  rapidly  taking  the  place  of  stationary  desks  in 
the  public  schools,  is  ideal  in  that  it  is  equipped 

1  Used  through  the  courtesy  of  the  American  Seating  Company, 
Chicago,  Ill. 


135 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


with  a  pull-out  drawer  under  the  seat,  providing 
a  place  in  which  the  pupil’s  material — Bible,  note¬ 
book,  pencil,  etc. — may  be  kept. 


MOULTHROP  TABLE  CHAIR-DESK* 


Class  Names  and  Mottoes. 

A  class  name  is  desirable  because  it  helps  to 
create  class  spirit,  as  well  as  advertise  the  work  of 
the  class.  Some  schools  number  or  letter  the  classes 
to  indicate  their  relation  to  the  church ’s  school. 
In  others,  the  classes  choose  names  of  Bible  charac¬ 
ters — “Queen  Esther,”  “Knights  of  St.  Paul,” 


*Used  through  the  courtesy  of  the  American  Seating  Company, 
Chicago,  Illinois. 

136 


YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DIVISION  GLASS 


etc.  Some  classes  choose  names  that  indicate  the 
spirit  of  the  class;  as,  “Willing  Workers,”  “Play 
Square  Gang,”  etc.  J3till  others  use  letters — the 
“K.  Y.  L.  Class,”  “Delta  Alpha,”  etc.  In  other 
schools,  where  the  Triangle  club  work  is  being 
correlated  with  the  organized-class  work,  classes 
are  calling  themselves  the  “Livingstone  Triangle,” 
the  “Moffat  Triangle,”  or  “Dye  Triangle.”  The 
author  found  one  church  on  the  Pacific  coast  in 
which  all  the  classes  in  the  Intermediate  depart¬ 
ment  were  named  for  living  missionaries,  and  all 
had  their  class  mottoes  suggested  by  these  living 
missionaries. 

The  class  motto  is  equally  important  with  the 
class  name,  especially  if  it  embodies  in  some  way 
the  class  aim  and  spirit.  The  following  are  sug¬ 
gestive:  “Play  Square,”  “Get  the  Other  Fellow,” 
“Be  Strong,”  “We  Do  Things,”  “We  Mean  Busi¬ 
ness,  ”  “  Messengers  of  the  Queen,  ”  “  Onward,  ’  ’ 
etc. 

Class  Records  and  Credits. 

There  should  be  a  more  or  less  uniform  system 
of  records  and  credits  for  all  classes  in  the  Inter¬ 
mediate,  Senior  and  Young  People’s  departments, 
for  those  are  the  years  when  habits  become  fixed 
and  life’s  ideals  permanently  established. 

“Regularity  in  attendance  and  punctuality  are 
desirable  on  the  part  of  all,  not  only  for  the  sake 
of  the  school,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  habit  which 

137 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


is  becoming  fixed  during  these  years.  Young  people 
learn  to  practice  the  principles  of  Christian  giving 
by  giving  regularly,  systematically  and  intelligently 
to  all  the  various  phases  of  the  work  during  the 
years  in  which  they  are  receiving  Christian  train¬ 
ing.  They  will  become  proficient  in  the  use  of  their 
Bibles  to  the  extent  that  they  learn  to  use  them 
intelligently  during  these  years.  Regularity  in 
church  attendance  is  essential  to  those  who  would 
learn  to  worship  in  spirit  and  truth.  Home  study, 
carefully  planned  and  wisely  assigned  from  week 
to  week  by  the  teacher  who  confidently  expects 
definite  work,  will  help  the  pupil  to  take  a  right¬ 
ful  attitude  toward  Christian  education.  Since 
all  these  things  are  desirable,  and  necessary  to  the 
growth  and  progress  of  the  pupil,  a  definite  sys¬ 
tem  of  credits  and  records  is  essential.  ’  ’ 1 

The  department  counselor  (superintendent)  and 
teachers  should  work  out  a  uniform  credit  system 
for  all  the  classes  in  a  given  department.  The 
points  suggested  on  page  62  of  Chapter  II.  are 
suggestive.  Every  Sunday  the  record  of  each 
pupil  on  each  point  should  be  made,  and  at  the 
end  of  the  quarter  the  totals  copied  in  the  depart¬ 
ment  superintendent’s  ((counselor’s)  permanent 
record-book.  The  Graded  Credit  System,2  Student’s 

1  Irvin,  The  Modern  Sunday  School,  Its  Organization  and  Equip¬ 
ment  (p.  50). 

2  See  A  Workers’  Manual,  by  Irvin  (pp.  7-11),  Christian  Board 
of  Publication,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 


138 


SCREENS* 

Screens  are  often  preferable  to  curtains  for  the  separation  of 
classes.  Through  the  courtesy  of  H.  L.  Strickland,  Nashville,  Ten¬ 
nessee,  we  are  permitted  to  present  the  combination  screen  and 
blackboard  as  shown  in  the  accompanying  cut.  The  screen  is  made 
in  two  sections,  which  are  securely  hinged  together,  each  being  three 
feet  wide  and  five  feet  high.  The  frame  is  %  by  2 1/2  inches,  the 
panels  being  filled  with  beaver-board;  the  top  panel  is  coated  with 
liquid  slating,  making  a  good  blackboard.  This  screen  can  be  made 
by  a  carpenter. 


*  P.  E.  Burroughs,  Church  and  Sunday  School  Buildings  (p.  1G7). 


YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DIVISION  GLASS 


Credit  Card  and  Department  Superintendent’s 
Permanent  Record  for  Intermediate,  Senior  and 
Young  People’s  classes  (diagrams  on  the  opposite 
page)  are  ideal. 

Teachers. 

The  grayest  problem  of  the  church  and  church 
school,  as  they  face  the  needs  of  boys  and  girls 
in  the  climacteric  years  of  adolescence,  is  the  lack 
of  trained  leadership.  The  Organized  Adult  Class 
Movement  has  helped  somewhat  to  solve  this  prob¬ 
lem,  but  there  is  still  a  very  great  dearth  of  real, 
live,  wide-awake,  intelligent  leadership  for  these 
years.  The  qualifications  required  for  teachers  of 
Intermediate,  Senior  and  Young  People’s  classes 
differ  from  those  required  for  teachers  in  the  other 
departments.  The  fundamental  qualifications,  such 
as  Christian  character,  human  sympathy,  faithful¬ 
ness,  etc.,  are  essential  here  as  in  all  other  depart¬ 
ments,  but  the  successful  teacher  of  adolescents 
must  have  in  addition  intelligent  insight  into  boy 
and  girl  life,  initiative  (leadership),  consecration, 
and  adequate  preparation.  The  selection  of  just 
any  one  to  teach  teen-age  and  Young  People’s 
classes  is  a  fatal  mistake.  These  boys  and  girls  of 
high-school  and  college  age  quickly  detect  in¬ 
efficiency  and  indifference  on  the  part  of  teachers. 
They  are  just  at  the  time  when,  if  they  are  to  be 
held  to  the  church,  they  must  have  the  ablest  teach¬ 
ers  that  can  possibly  be  provided.  Teachers  of 

139 


Department  Superintendent's 
Permanent  Record 

Intermediate,  Senior  and  Young  Peoplo 


Pupil’s  Name 

Date  of  Enrollment 

Address 

Phone 

Age  Birthday 

Public  School  Grade 

CLaat  birthday)  (Month) 

Ul*j) 

ms 

Member  of  Church 

Where 

Joined  Church 

How 

Father 

Church 

Mother 

Church 

Assigned  to  Class 

Transferred 

Lost  to  School 

Cause 

(In/ormation  Copied  Iron  Student's  Credit  Cerd) 


YEAR 

Average  for  Year___ 

Average  far  Year _ 

Average  for  Y 

FIRST 

SECOND 

THIRD 

Quarter 

1 

2 

.  3 

4 

t 

2 

3 

4 

i 

2 

3 

4 

Prevent 

On  Time 

Offering 

° 

BibU  (Um  of) 

Assigned  Work 

Choroh 

Attendance 

Grade  ... _ _ 

The  “Student’s  Credit  Card’’  and  “Department  Superintendent’s 
Permanent  Record’’  shown  above  are  used  with  the  permission  of 
the  Christian  Board  of  Publication,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

140 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


these  classes  should  be  graduates  of  an  accredited 
Teacher-training  Course  or  its  equivalent,  and 
should  continue  their  study  and  specialization  by 
attending  conventions,  institutes,  schools  of  meth¬ 
ods,  and  community  training-schools. 

At  no  other  time  is  the  need  for  men  teachers 
of  boys’  classes  and  women  teachers  for  girls’ 
classes  so  necessary  as  during  the  years  from 
twelve  to  eighteen.  The  physical  changes  that  are 
taking  place  during  these  years,  and  the  consequent 
new  adjustments,  call  for  the  most  sympathetic 
relationship  between  teacher  and  pupil.  Teachers 
of  the  opposite  sex  can  not  enter  into  the  inner 
lives  of  their  pupils  at  the  point,  often,  of  greatest 
need. 

Correlation. 

In  these  days  of  economic  and  industrial  pres¬ 
sure  and  of  organizations  without  number,  both 
inside  and  outside  the  church,  teachers  and  leaders 
of  young  people ’s  organizations  of  similar  ages 
within  the  church  should  endeavor  to  unify  the 
leadership  and  correlate  the  program  of  Sunday 
and  through-the-week  activities  of  these  organiza¬ 
tions  so  as  to  avoid  all  needless  duplication  and 
afford  the  largest  possible  training  with  the  mini¬ 
mum  of  machinery. 

Many  churches  are  now  correlating  the  work  of 
Triangle  clubs,  mission  bands,  young  ladies’  circles, 
guilds,  etc.,  with  the  through-the-week  activities  of 

141 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


organized  Intermediate,  Senior  and  Young  People’s 
classes.  This  is  a  hopeful  sign,  and  should  be  en¬ 
couraged  because  it  looks  toward  a  more  complete, 
full-rounded  Christian  education  for  the  youth 
of  the  church.  The  church’s  school  touches  more 
young  people  than  any  other  organization  in  the 
church’s  life.  Its  groupings  (departmental  and 
class)  are  based  upon  natural  life  periods  and  life 
interests;  it  affords,  therefore,  the  logical  working 
basis  for  the  correlation  of  all  the  things  necessary 
to  the  Christian  education  of  boys  and  girls  and 
young  people. 

International  Recognition. 

A  great  many  communions  issue  a  certificate  or 
charter  of  recognition  to  organized  Young  People’s 
Division  classes.  Some  have  only  a  seal,  which 
may  be  placed  on  the  certificate  issued  by  the  In¬ 
ternational  Council  of  Religious  Education.  When 
a  class  has  completed  its  organization,  an  applica¬ 
tion1  for  a  certificate  of  recognition  should  he  made, 
either  to  your  own  Sunday-school  headquarters,  or 
to  the  State  or  Provincial  office  of  the  International 
Sunday  School  Council  of  Religious  Education. 
Upon  the  receipt  of  this  application  with  twenty- 
five  cents,  a  beautiful  lithographed  certificate, 

1  Blank  application  forms  may  be  secured  from  your  own  Sunday- 
school  headquarters  or  from  the  State  or  Provincial  Sunday  SchocH 
Association  office. 


142 


YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DIVISION  GLASS 


suitable  for  framing  for  classroom  use,  will  be 
issued. 

The  royal  blue  and  white  button  (white  center 
and  blue  rim)  has  been  adopted  as  the  international 
emblem  for  the  Young  People’s  Division.  The  blue 
indicates  loyalty,  and  the  white,  purity.  These 
buttons  may  be  secured  from  any  publishing-house 
handling  Bible-school  supplies,  and  are  frequently 
presented  to  the  class  by  the  teacher,  with  the 
certificate. 

The  certificate,  the  registration  and  the  button 
help  to  link  the  class  with  the  great  church-school, 
world-wide  brotherhood  of  Young  People’s  classes, 
the  most  far-reaching  movement  and  organization 
for  young  people  in  the  world  to-day. 

TEACHING  OUTLINE. 

Purpose. 

1.  To  take  advantage  of  the  natural,  God-given  social  or 
group  instinct  that  comes  with  adolescence  and  to  form  within 
the  church,  and  as  an  integral  part  of  its  educational  program, 
organizations  that  will  make  the  largest  possible  appeal. 

Advantages. 

1.  Utilizes  the  social  or  group  instinct,  providing  an  effec¬ 
tual  channel  through  which  to  train  young  people  in  Christian 
conduct  and  service. 

2.  Develops  leadership  by  fixing  responsibility. 

3.  Utilizes  the  energy,  ambition  and  desire  to  do  things 
so  characteristic  of  young  people. 

4.  Increases  class  spirit,  loyalty  to  the  church  and  school. 

5.  Encourages  mutual  sympathy,  interest  and  helpfulness. 

143 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


Standards. 

1.  By  which  to  judge  when  a  class  is  properly  organized : 

(1)  When  it  has  enough  officers  and  committees  to  carry 
on  its  work. 

t. 

(2)  Wiien  it  is  definitely  connected  with  and  forms  a 
part  of  some  church  or  church  school. 

(3)  When  it  has  regular  Sunday  and  through-the-week 
meetings. 

(4)  When  its  age  limits  are  not  under  twelve  nor  more 
than  twenty-four  approximately. 

(5)  When  it  has  definite  goals  and  a  working  program. 

Aims. 

1.  To  win  the  members  to  personal  allegiance  to  Jesus 
Christ  as  Lord  and  Saviour. 

2.  To  train  the  individual  members  through  Bible  study, 
Christian  conduct,  recreation  and  service  to  embody  within 
themselves  the  Christ  ideal  of  life  and  service. 

Plan  of  Organization. 

1.  Elected  annually  or  semi-annually : 

1.  Officers:1 

(1)  President. 

(2)  Vice-President. 

(3)  Secretary. 

(4)  Treasurer  (Secretary- Treasurer  may  be  combined). 

(5)  Teacher  (appointed,  not  elected). 

2.  Committees  (as  many  as  the  need.s  of  the  class  require) . 
The  following  are  suggested: 

(1)  Membership. 

(2)  Missionary. 

(3)  Recreation  or  Social. 

(4)  Executive  (not  appointed.  Consists  of  officers  and 
committee  chairmen). 

3.  Meetings: 

1  Elected  annually  or  semi-annually. 

144 


YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DIVISION  GLASS 


(1)  Sunday  session  (forty  to  forty-five  minutes  in 
length.  At  least  thirty  minutes  devoted  to  study 
of  lesson). 

(a)  Program: 

Prayer. 

Report  of  secretary. 

Brief  reports  of  committees. 

Lesson  period. 

(2)  Weekly,  monthly  or  semi-monthly  session: 

(a)  Program: 

Varied — physical,  intellectual,  social,  devo¬ 
tional. 

Definite — blocked  out  for  at  least  a  quarter  in 
advance. 

Comprehensive — so  that  it  gets  somewhere  dur¬ 
ing  the  round  of  the  year. 

(b)  Officers  preside — program  in  hands  of  the 
young  people. 


How  to  Organize. 


1.  Study  purpose,  plan  of  organization,  etc. 

2.  Have  a  conference  with  key  pupils  and  think  the  plan 
through  with  them. 

(1)  Get  a  line  on  something  definite  and  constructive 
they  would  like  to  do. 

3.  Think  the  plan  through  with  the  entire  class. 

(1)  Get  a  nominating  committee  representing  all  inter¬ 
ests  of  the  class,  all  types  of  young  people. 

4.  Elect  officers  in  an  orderly  way. 

(1)  At  least  once  a  year,  perferably  twice  a  year  with 
the  younger  classes. 

5.  Put  the  program  in  the  hands  of  young  people,  and 
drop  in  the  background  yourself.  Be  the  power  behind  the 


throne,  not  on  it. 
10 


145 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


Class  Groupings. 

1.  Sane,  natural,  and  never  too  large. 

(1)  Best  result  with,  younger  pupils  when  the  class  is 
small,  not  over  eight  .to  fourteen. 

(2)  Not  too  wide  an  age  range.  A  good  working  basis 
is  12-14,  15-17,  18-24  plus. 

2.  With  older  young  people  the  ability  of  the  teacher  to 
handle  and  work  through  an  organization  will  determine  large¬ 
ly  the  size  of  the  group. 

3.  Keep  sexes  separate  at  least  through  the  high-school 
years. 

4.  If  possible,  provide  men  teachers  for  boys*  classes 
and  women  teachers  for  girls  ’  classes. 

Equipment, 

1.  Separate  classrooms. 

2.  Blackboard,  maps,  pictures,  pads  of  paper  for  note¬ 
taking,  pencils,  Bibles  and  broad-armed  chairs  or  tables 
around  which  the  pupils  may  gather  for  study. 

Class  Names  and  Mottoes. 

1.  Desirable  because  the  name  and  motto  help  to  create 
class  spirit. 

(1)  Names  for: 

Bible  characters — Knights  of  St.,  Paul,  etc. 
Missionary  heroes — Emery  Ross  class,  etc. 

(2)  Secret  names — Delta  Alpha,  K.  Y.  L.  class,  etc. 

(3)  Symbols — Altruistic  class,  Be  Square,  P.  G.  class. 

2.  Mottoes  should  be  in  keeping  with  the  name. 

(1)  “This  one  thing  I  do. ” — Paul. 

(2)  A  slogan  given  by  some  living  missionary. 

(3)  K.  Y.  L. — “Know  Your  Lesson. ” 

(4)  Altruistic — “For  Others/ ’  “Be  Square,”  P.  Sq. 
G.,  “Play  Square.” 

146 


YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  DIVISION  GLASS 


Class  Records  and  Credits. 

1.  There  should  be  a  uniform  system  of  class  records 
throughout  the  department. 

(1)  Should  include  a  uniform  system  of  recording  at¬ 
tendance,  use  of  Bibles,  offering,  church  atten¬ 
dance,  home  work,  etc. 

(a)  Graded  credit  system  issued  by  Christian  Board 
of  Publication  ideal. 

2.  Should  be  a  uniform  system  of  giving  throughout  all 
the  classes  of  a  department. 

(1)  Duplex-envelope  system  is  perhaps  the  best. 

Teachers. 

1.  None  but  the  best. 

2.  Qualifications: 

(1)  Christian  character,  sympathy,  initiative  (leader¬ 
ship),  consecration  and  preparation. 

3.  Graduates  of  an  accredited  teacher- training  course  or 
its  equivalent. 

(1)  Should  continue  to  specialize  by  attending  conven¬ 
tions,  leadership  training-schools,  community  in¬ 
stitutes,  etc. 

Correlation. 

1.  Many  churches  are  correlating  the  work  of  such  aux¬ 
iliary  organizations  as  Boy  Scouts,  Camp-fire  Girls,  etc.,  with 
the  through-the-week  meetings  or  organized  classes. 

International  Recognition. 

1.  Each  class  should  be  registered  with  your  own  denomi¬ 
national  headquarters  that  they  may  be  kept  in  touch  with 
the  new  materials  that  come  from  press  for  organized  groups. 
(1)  Registration  secures  for  the  class: 

(a)  The  International  Young  People’s  Division 
Class  Certificate,  beautifully  lithographed  in 
blue  and  gold,  25  cents. 

147 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


(b)  The  right  to  wear  the  royal  blue  and  white 
button  adopted  as  the  emblem  of  organized 
Young  People’s  Division  classes. 

Blue — loyalty. 

White — purity. 

(c)  The  two  link  the  class  with  the  world-wide 
brotherhood  of  Young  People’s  classes. 

QUESTIONS  FOR  STUDY  AND  DISCUSSION. 

1.  Suggest  five  advantages  of  class  organization. 

2.  Discuss  class  (groupings,  size,  sex,  etc. 

3.  Suggest  a  simple  plan  of  organization  for  Intermediate, 
Senior  and  Young  People’s  classes. 

4.  Discuss  the  necessary  and  desirable  equipment  for 
Young  People’s  classes. 

5.  Of  what  value  are  class  names  and  mottoes? 

6.  By  what  standards  would  you  judge  a  class  to  be  effi¬ 
ciently  organized? 


148 


VI 


FOURFOLD  PROGRAMS  FOR  DEVELOPING 


LIFE 


NY  program  of  Christian  education  that  does 


jl  \  not  recognize  the  physical,  intellectual,  social 
and  spiritual  needs  and  interests  of  young  people 
is  incomplete.  Life  functions  as  a  unit.  You  can 
not  save  the  souls  of  boys  and  girls  if  they  are 
living  in  accursed  physical  bodies ;  you  can  not 
save  the  souls  of  boys  and  girls  if  they  are  living 
in  an  immoral  mental  world ;  you  can  not  save  the 
souls  of  boys  and  girls,  or  men  and  women,  if 
their  social  relationships  with  all  other  boys  and 
girls  and  men  and  women  are  not  clean  and  pure 
and  wholesome  altogether.  The  only  way  to  reach 
the  soul  is  through  the  body,  for,  as  Grenfell  notes, 
“when  the  soul  has  cast  off  its  body  we  can  not 
reach  it  at  all.”  This  makes  a  fourfold  program 
of  Christian  education  essential  to  the  complete 
development  of  young  people.  In  times  gone  by, 
the  great  mass  of  Sunday-school  teachers  had  no 
sense  of  responsibility  for  other  than  the  spiritual 
development  of  their  pupils.  They  did  not  look 
upon  it  as  their  religious  duty  to  encourage  physi- 


149 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


cal,  intellectual  and  social  growth.  They  taught 
a  twenty  or  thirty  minute  Bible  lesson  once  a 
week  without  a  thought  as  to  how  the  ideas  and 
ideals  presented  were  to  be  wrought  out  in  the  life 
of  the  pupils.  Not  so  to-day.  Christian  teachers 
and  leaders  of  our  time  are  beginning  to  sense  the 
need  for  an  all-round  symmetrical  development^ 
and,  in  the  program  of  through-the-week  and 
month  activities  for  their  classes,  are  giving  young 
people  the  inspiration  and  training  that  looks 
toward  this  complete,  full-rounded,  fourfold  growth. 

The  fundamental  law  in  human  development  is 
activity.  Expression  deepens,  and  in  a  very  large 
measure  determines,  impression.  Professor  Coe 
says:  “Life  develops,  learns  both  to  know  and  to 
do,  by  doing.  ’  ’ 1  The  passion  of  young  life  is  for 
expression,  and  it  is  this  very  demand  on  the  part 
of  youth  to  live  the  thing  it  is  thinking  about  that 
affords  the  church  its  opportunity  to  fix  ideals  and 
determine  development  by  guiding  and  directing 
the  activity  life  of  hoys  and  girls. 

This  demand  for  activity  is  not  confined  to  one 
day  in  the  week.  The  same  bundle  of  instincts  that 
impels  to  action  on  Monday,  Tuesday  and  Wednes¬ 
day,  impels  to  action  on  Sunday,  and  the  reverse 
is  true.  Young  people  are  just  as  active  on  Sun¬ 
day  as  they  are  on  the  other  days  of  the  week ; 
and  they  are  just  as  religious  on  Sunday  as  they 

1  Education  in  Religion  and  Morals,  Chap.  VII. 

150 


FOURFOLD  PROGRAMS 


are  on  other  days  of  the  week,  and  not  more  so. 
They  make  little  or  no  distinction  between  things 
secular  and  things  spiritual.  A  trip  to  the  woods 
or  to  some  educational  or  benevolent  institution, 
a  game  of  volley-ball  or  basket-ball,  a  vocational 
or  life-work  talk,  the  reading  aloud  of  some  good 
book — any  or  all  of  these  things  may  afford  just  as 
fine  an  opportunity  for  teaching  the  eternal  truths 
of  God  as  the  classroom  session  on  Sunday.  And 
the  earlier  the  church  awakens  to  this  fact  and 
ties  up  the  through-the-week  life  and  interests  of 
young  people  with  the  Sunday  life,  by  guiding  and 
directing  the  through-the-week  activities  of  youth, 
the  better  it  will  be  for  all  concerned. 

Class  Organization. 

The  organized  Young  People’s  Division  class 
is  the  normal  center  for  the  interests  and  activities 
of  the  youth  of  the  church,  else  impression  and  ex¬ 
pression  are  divorced,  and  they  may  not  be.  It  is 
suicidal  to  attempt  to  teach  the  great  truths  of 
God  in  the  Sunday  sessions  without  making  the 
through-the-week  sessions  of  the  class  a  laboratory 
for  the  expression  of  these  truths.  The  church 
school  in  its  outreach  into  the  life  of  boys  and 
girls  should  touch  every  life  interest  and  life 
situation.  Young  people  should  come  to  look  upon 
the  organized  class  as  the  center  of  their  interests 
and  activities.  Its  through-the-week  programs 
should  be  so  planned  as  to  train  the  whole  life  of 

151 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


young  people  by  giving  opportunity  for  the  ex¬ 
pression  of  the  physical,  intellectual,  social  and 
religious  life  in  service. 

The  first  step  is  to  organize  the  class.  *  The 
organization  should  make  it  possible  to  use  every 
member  of  the  class  in  some  way.  As  soon  as 
the  organization  has  been  effected,  there  should  be 
a  called  meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  to 
talk  over  and  outline  a  definite  program  of  activ¬ 
ities  in  line  with  the  interest  and  needs  of  the 
pupils.  When  this  program  has  been  outlined, 

it  should  be  brought  up  at  the  next  regular 
through-the-week  meeting  of  the  class  for  discus¬ 
sion,  correction  and  adoption.  The  details  for  the 
various  activities  outlined  may  then  be  turned 
over  to  the  proper  standing  or  short-term  com¬ 

mittees  for  execution.  Classes  that  are  making 
the  greatest  progress  in  the  way  of  fourfold  de¬ 
velopment  are  outlining  their  through-the-week 
activities  for  three,  six,  nine  months  and  a  year  at 
a  time.  The  following  program,  outlined  and 
adopted  by  a  class  of  girls  in  the  middle  teens 
as  a  working  basis  for  the  fall  quarter,  is  suggestive 
of  the  progress  that  can  be  made  through  a  planned 

program :  „ 

1  °  October. 

First  Week — Story  hour  (Program  Committee  directing). 

Second  Week — Camp-fire  marshmallow  roast,  stories  and 
games  (Social  Committee). 

Third  Week — Volley-ball;  challenged  another  class  of  girls 
to  a  match  game  (Recreation  Committee). 

152 


FOURFOLD  PROGRAMS 


Fourth  Week — Dressed  dolls  for  the  Orphans’  Home  (Ser¬ 
vice  Committee). 

November. 

First  Week — Story  hour  (Program  Committee). 

Second  Week — Chafing-dish  party  (Social  Committee). 

Third  Week — Volley-ball;  all  the  girls  in  the  department 
in  a  match  game  (Recreation  Committee  in  charge). 

Fourth  Week — Made  aprons  for  orphan  children  (Service 
Committee) . 

December. 

First  Week — Story  hour  (Program  Committee). 

Second  Week — Salmagunda  social;  girls’  class  entertain¬ 
ing  the  boys’  Play  Square  Gang  class  (Social  Committee). 

Third  Week — Filled  surprise  bags  for  community  Christ¬ 
mas  tree  (Service  Committee). 

Fourth  Week — Moonlight  trip  to  the  Orphans’  Home  to 
tell  stories  Christmas  Eve  to  orphan  children  (Program  Com¬ 
mittee)  . 

The  girls  in  this  class  met  from  2 :30  to  4 :30 
o’clock  on  Saturday  afternoon  (unless  the  activity 
called  for  an  evening  meeting) .  They  gave  the 
first  Saturday  afternoon  each  month  to  story-tell¬ 
ing,  using  Professor  St.  John’s  hook,  “Stories  and 
Story  Telling,”  as  the  basis  of  their  story  work. 
Their  aim  was  to  master,  through  study  and  prac¬ 
tice,  the  art  of  retelling  short  stories.  The  story 
period  included  the  reading  aloud,  as  they  sat  in 
a  circle,  of  one  chapter  from  the  book.  This  was 
followed  by  a  brief  discussion  and  summary,  led 
by  one  of  the  girls  to  whom  the  task  had  been 
previously  assigned.  After  the  discussion,  two  or 

153 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


three  short  stories  were  retold  by  the  girls,  and 
then  the  critic  for  the  afternoon  made  her  report, 
emphasizing  the  strong  and  weak  points  in  the 
light  of  what  they  had  learned  from  their  text¬ 
book  study.  The  story  hour  was  followed  by  a 
fun  period  (games  of  all  kinds),  light  refresh¬ 
ments,  and  adieus.  The  class  met  usually  at  the 
home  of  one  of  the  girls,  occasionally  at  the  home 
of  the  teacher.  By  the  time  this  class  of  girls  had 
finished  the  Intermediate  Graded  Lessons,  they  had 
turned  back  into  the  Primary  and  Junior  depart¬ 
ments,  as  teachers  and  helpers,  eight  of  their 
number;  and  the  department  superintendents,  com¬ 
menting  upon  their  work,  said  they  were  the  best 
teachers  in  their  departments,  because  they  knew 
how  to  tell  Bible  stories  in  such  an  interesting  way. 

There  ought  always  to  be  a  regular  order  of 
procedure  for  these  through-the-week  meetings.  The 
following  is  suggestive: 

1.  Meeting  opened  by  the  president  or  vice-president  with 
prayer. 

2.  Reading  of  the  minutes  of  the  last  meeting  by  the  sec¬ 
retary.  The  minutes  should  include  (1)  items  of  interest  in 
regard  to  standing  of  the  class  as  compared  with  other  classes 
in  .the  department;  and  (2)  a  brief  review  of  the  leading 
points  taught  in  the  lesson  for  the  Sunday  or  Sundays  passed. 

3.  Business  items,  including  challenges  from  other  classes, 
announcements  of  interclass  and  department  activities,  etc. 
These  should  be  talked  over  by  the  president  and  chairmen 
of  committees  in  advance  so  as  not  to  consume  too  much  time 
at  the  meeting. 


154 


FOURFOLD  PROGRAMS 


4.  The  program  or  activity  for  the  afternoon  or  evening, 
as  arranged  by  the  standing  or  short-term  committee  in 
charge. 

Physical  Programs. 

i 

But  some  may  raise  the  question:  Why  should 
physical  activities  have  a  place  in  the  through-the- 
week  program  of  organized  classes?  Because  the 
basis  of  all  development  is  physical;  because  of 
the  rapid  physical  growth,  and  increase  both  in 
quantity  and  temperature  of  the  blood  during  the 
adolescent  years;  because  of  the  ceaseless  activity 
constantly  generating  energy;  “because  self-control 
and  the  development  of  all  the  higher  moral  and 
intellectual  powers  depend  upon  the  proper  inter¬ 
action  of  nerves  and  muscles;  because  adolescence 
is  the  age  of  nerve  and  muscle  education ;  because 
95  per  cent,  of  all  interests  find  physical  expres¬ 
sion;”  because  Jesus  is  the  physical  as  well  as  the 
intellectual,  social  and  spiritual  ideal  of  adoles¬ 
cence.  (See  Luke  2:52;  10:27;  1  Cor.  6:19,  20; 
Rom.  12:1;  3  John  2.)  Margaret  Slattery,  speak¬ 
ing  of  the  physical  side  of  the  girl  in  her  teens, 
says:  “As  long  as  we  live,  the  physical  will  be 
with  us;  it  is  not  to  be  despised,  but  respected; 
not  to  be  ignored,  but  developed;  not  to  be 
abused,  but  used.  It  demands  obedience,  and 
exacts  penalty  when  its  laws  are  broken.  ’  ’ 1  The 
physical  life  is  important  because  of  its  spiritual 

1  The  Girl  m  Her  Teens  (p.  26). 


155 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


relationships.  Therefore  Paul  could  say:  “Know 
ye  not  that  your  body  is  a  temple  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  ?  ’  ’ 

If  all  boys  and  girls  were  in  the  public  schools, 
and  the  public  schools  everywhere  gave  attention 
to  this  matter  of  directing  the  physical  growth 
and  development  of  the  body,  then  the  church’s 
school  might  dismiss  the  physical  life  and  needs  of 
young  people  from  its  consideration.  Statistics 
show,  however,  that  52  per  cent,  of  the  boys  and 
girls  of  adolescent  years  in  the  United  States  are 
no  longer  enrolled  in  the  public  schools;  that  only 
10  per  cent,  of  the  total  enrollment  ever  go  as  far 
as  to  complete  a  full  four-year  high-school  course. 
For  the  sake,  then,  of  the  more  than  52  per  cent, 
not  enrolled  in  the  public  schools,  and  in  view  of 
the  large  number  of  cities,  towns  and  rural  com¬ 
munities  in  which  the  public  school  is  giving  no 
attention  to  the  matter  of  directing  the  physical 
growth  and  development  of  young  people,  the 
church’s  school,  if  it  meets  the  whole  needs  of  boys 
and  girls,  must  build  into  the  through-the-week 
programs  of  its  organized  classes  activities  that 
will  help  the  body  to  develop  normally. 

This  does  not  mean  that  every  church  must 
have  a  gymnasium,  clubrooms,  etc.  (it  would  be 
splendid,  indeed,  if  every  church  could  have  such 
equipment)  ;  but  it  does  mean  that  churches  not 
so  equipped  should  plan  the  through-the-week  ac¬ 
tivities  of  organized  classes  in  such  a  way  as  to 

156 


FOURFOLD  PROGRAMS 


give  some  consideration  to  the  physical  life  and 
needs  of  young  people. 

Physical  programs  for  young  people  should 
include : 

1.  Health  Education. — A  knowledge  of  the  laws  of 
health,  and  facts  that  will  help  young  people  to  attain  to 
Christ’s  ideal  for  the  body.  Talks  on  personal  habits  that 
make  for  good  health,  such  as  exercise,  regular  sleep,  diet, 
baths,  fresh  air,  care  of  eyes,  nails,  teeth,  the  laws  of  recre¬ 
ation,  hiking,  etc.1 

2.  Outdoor  Life. — Life  in  the  open  is  one  of  the  most  val¬ 
uable  factors  in  securing  health  and  physical  vigor.  It  needs 
especially  to  be  emphasized  in  the  life  of  employed  boys  and 
girls.  Observation  trips,  hikes,  picnics,  camping,  etc.,  should 
be  included  in  the  programs  of  young  people. 

3.  Sports. —  (1)  Individual,  such  as  tennis,  croquet,  golf, 
skating,  brevit  and  quoits.  (2)  Group  games,  such  as  three- 
deep,  pass-ball,  dodge-ball,  bean-bag,  etc.  (3)  Team  games, 
such  as  baseball,  volley-ball,  basket-ball,  hockey,  cricket,  etc. 

( 4)  Water  sports,  including  swimming,  rowing,  diving,  water- 
ball,  etc.1 

4.  First  Aid  and  Home  Nursing. — An  elementary  knowl¬ 
edge  of  these  subjects.  Where  practicable,  a  brief  ‘‘Eirst 
Aid”  and  “Home  Nursing”  course. 

Intellectual  Programs. 

In  any  four-square  scheme  of  development  the 
intellectual  needs  and  interests  must  be  fully  recog¬ 
nized,  because  the  mind  is  the  controller  of  the 
body.  It  is  the  knowing  power,  the  feeling  power, 
the  willing  power  in  human  life,  and  therefore 

1  Canadian  Girls  in  Training  (pp.  10,  11). 


157 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


controls  in  a  very  large  measure  all  higher  moral 
and  spiritual  development.  It  is  capable  of  wonder¬ 
ful  growth,  and  it  is  during  the  teens  and  early 
twenties  that  its  most  wonderful  growth  takes  place. 
Jesus  recognized  the  importance  of  the  mind  in 
His  teaching,  for  did  He  not  say,  “As  a  man 
thinketh  in  his  heart  [mind],  so  is  he”?  Teachers 
and  leaders  of  adolescents  should  encourage  every 
boy  and  girl  to  so  develop  the  intellect  as  “to 
think  clearly,  choose  wisely,,  and  act  correctly  in 
all  the  experiences  of  life.”  Young  people  need 
to  be  helped,  especially  in  these  days  when  eco¬ 
nomic  and  industrial  pressure  tends  to  crowd  out 
the  development  of  the  higher  intellectual  and 
cultural  studies,  to  see  what  a  heritage  God  has 
given  them  in  the  power  to  enter  into  the  world  of 
literature,  science,  music  and  art,  and  there  to 
gain  possessions  for  life  that  will  relax  their  hold 
on  lower  instincts  and  interests.  Intellectual  pro¬ 
grams  for  young  people  should  include : 

1.  School,  College  or  Vocational  Training. — Intellec¬ 
tual  growth,  as  represented  by  school  and  college  attendance, 
is  not  always  popular  with  young  people.  They  need  to  be 
inspired  to  make  such  decisions  with  reference  to  higher  edu¬ 
cation  as  will  make  it  possible  for  them  to  make  the  largest 
contribution  in  life  because  of  adequate  intellectual  prepara¬ 
tion.  Then,  too,  entrance  into  the  world  of  business  or  indus¬ 
try  so  often  marks  the  end  of  systematic  mental  and  cultural 
growth  for  young  people.  This  false  idea  may  be  overcome 
by  getting  them  to  pursue  night-school  correspondence  and 
special  courses.  Vocational  and  life-work  talks  should  there- 

158 


FOURFOLD  PROGRAMS 


fore  find  their  place  in  the  through-the-week  activities  of  boys’ 
and  girls’  classes. 

2.  Educational  Trips  and  Lectures. — Visits  to  public 
buildings  and  institutions,  places  of  historic  interest,  mu¬ 
seums,  factories,  etc.  Attendance  at  lectures  of  educational 
value  tends  to  enlarge  the  ideas  and  ideals  of  young  people.1 

3.  Home  Reading. — The  cultivation  of  a  high  standard 
in  one’s  own  personal  reading,  the  use  of  the  public  library, 
the  making  of  collections  of  good  books,  will  enlarge  their 
world  of  appreciation.  Teachers  may  be  helpful  in  suggesting 
wnrth-while  books  for  young  people  to  read  in  the  realm  of 
biography,  history,  travel,  stories,  fiction  and  science.  Story 
hours  and  book  reviews  are  helpful  means  of  inspiration. 

4.  Home-craft  and  Handcraft. — Including  practical 
knowledge  and  ability  in  the  management  of  the  home,  cook¬ 
ing,  dressmaking,  millinery,  laundering,  marketing,  etc.1  Man¬ 
ual  work,  including  carpentering,  wood-carving,  basketry,  py- 
rography,  gardening,  etc. 

5.  Music  and  Art. — Knowledge  of  great  composers  and 
their  works,  including  great  hymns  and  hymn-writers.  Abil¬ 
ity  to  play  or  sing.  Knowledge  of  architecture,  sculpture, 
famous  pictures.  Ability  to  draw,  paint,  design,  sketch  or  il¬ 
lustrate  should  be  encouraged.1 

6.  Literary  Ability. — Including  conversation,  extempo¬ 
raneous  talks,  debates,  story  hours,  dramatics,  etc.,  should  be 
emphasized.  The  author  recalls  a  class  of  young  men  (most 
of  them  city  salesmen)  who  made  a  study  of  salesmanship 
one  of  the  regular  activities  of  their  through-the-week  meet¬ 
ings. 

Social  and  Service  Programs. 

“Life  is  not  lived  in  isolation,  but  in  social 
groups,  the  home,  school,  church  and  community; 

1  Canadian  Girls  in  Training  (p.  12). 


159 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


and  the  Christian  law  for  all  these  relationships 
is  love,  expressing  itself  in  service.  ’  ’  This  is 
nowhere  more  evident  than  with  young  people.  The 
youth  of  the  world  get  together  for  work,  for  recrea¬ 
tion,  for  service.  The  task  of  the  church  is  to 
provide,  control  and  properly  environ  the  social 
relationships  of  young  people  so  that  they  will 
become  constructive  in  the  building  of  character. 
Margaret  Slattery,  speaking  of  the  social  needs  of 
teen-age  girls,  says:  “If  the  opportunity  to  choose 
came  to  me,  as  to  Solomon,  I  would  rather  have 
the  knowledge  and  power  to  give  the  young  people 
of  to-day  sane,  safe  amusements  than  anything 
else  I  know.  ’  ’ 1 

The  church  must  face  the  fact  that  the  social 
instinct  and  the  instinct  to  play  are  just  as  natural 
and  normal  in  human  life  as  physical  hunger ; 
that  the  demand  of  the  mind  and  the  body  for 
social  intercourse,  for  recreation  and  amusement 
of  one  type  or  the  other,  is  just  as  insistent  in  its 
way  as  the  demand  of  the  stomach  for  food.  The 
world  must  live  together,  work  together,  play  to¬ 
gether;  and  always  and  everywhere,  among  those 
who  live  and  work  and  play,  the  young  are  the 
more  eager.  The  through-the-week  programs  of 
organized  classes  should  provide  opportunity  for 
the  expression  of  the  three  great  passions  of  youth — 
work,  love,  and  play  in  service  to  others.  Social 

1  The  Girl  in  Her  Teens  (pp.  67,  68). 


160 


FOURFOLD  PROGRAMS 


and  service  programs  for  young  people  should 
include: 

1.  Ability  to  Entertain. — Including  (1)  socials  of  all 
kinds:  Best-girl  night,  best-fellow  social,  parents’  night, 
father  and  son  spread,  mothers’  reception,  masked  parties, 
taffy-pull,  class  guest  of  class  spread,  banquet,  indoor  track- 
meets,  etc.  (2)  Indoor  game  tournaments,  such  as  bunco, 
chess,  checkers,  dominoes,  pit,  “I’m  a  Millionaire,”  “30  and 
27,”  “Who’s  WTio  in  Missions,”  etc.  (3)  Entertainments: 
Fireside  joke  nights,  popular  song  contests,  mock  trials,  guess¬ 
ing  contests,  hayseed  carnivals,  popcorn  festivals,  post-card 
showers,  etc. 

2.  Training  for  Service. —  (1)  In  the  home — courtesy,  as¬ 
suming  definite  responsibility,  helping  to  support,  etc.  (2) 
In  the  church — active  participation  in  the  work  of  the  Sunday 
school,  young  people’s  organizations,  acting  as  ushers,  sing¬ 
ing  in  choir,  teaching,  taking  training  courses,  etc.  (3)  In 
the  community — visiting  shut-ins,  tearing  bandages  for  visit¬ 
ing  nurses’  associations,  providing  story  hours  for  neg¬ 
lected  children,  collecting  magazines  and  books  for  prisons, 
hospitals,  homes  for  the  aged,  etc.  (4)  In  the  world — train¬ 
ing  in  stewardship,  the  gift  of  self,  service  and  substance 
for  the  needs  of  humanity  the  world  over. 

3.  Good  Citizenship  Campaigns. — Including  a  knowledge 
of  community  forms  of  government,  taking  part  in  commu¬ 
nity  campaigns  for  social  betterment,  surveys,  fly  cam¬ 
paigns,  etc.1 11 

4.  Vocational  Choices. — Including  the  subordination  of 
material  gain  for  the  good  of  the  community  and  the  world. 

Religious  Programs. 

The  term  1  1  religious  ’  ’  is  used  here  in  the  sense 
of  personal  relationship  on  the  part  of  young 

1  Canadian  Girls  in  Training  (p.  16) . 

11  161 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


people  to  God.  In  a  certain  sense,  religion  may 
not  be  considered  apart  from  the  physical,  intellec¬ 
tual  and  social  development,  for  all  true  religion 
expresses  itself  through  physical,  intellectual  and 
social  avenues.  Every  leader  of  young  people, 
however,  knows  that  there  are  certain  definite 
means  by  which  he  or  she  may  help  young  people 
to  grow  spiritually — to  find  God  through  prayer, 
Bible  study,  mission  study,  worship,  self-denial 
and  service.  The  adolescent  years  are  the  years 
when  the  altruistic  and  religious  instincts  are  at 
floodtide.  Never  again  will  life  be  as  passionately 
idealistic,  altruistic,  as  keenly  alive  to  the  call  of 
the  Spirit.  The  Sunday  and  through-the-week 
programs  of  organized  classes  should  provide  op¬ 
portunity  for  the  constant  expression  of  these 
higher  instincts  and  impulses.  Religious  pro¬ 
grams  for  the  full-rounded  development  of  young 
people  should  include: 

1.  Daily  Devotions. — The  habit  of  daily  Bible  reading 
and  prayer,  including  the  “  Quiet  Hour”  or  “  Morning 
Watch. ’ ’ 

2.  Public  Worship. — Including  regular  attendance  at  the 
services  of  the  church. 

3.  Bible  Study. — In  the  church’s  school  and  mid-week  Bi- 
ble-study  groups. 

4.  Stewardship. — Including  the  gift  of  oneself  to 
Christ,  one ’s  time  in  His  service,  one ’s  substance  to  the  work 
of  His  kingdom. 

5.  Self-denial. — The  cultivation  of  self-control  and  tem- 
pearance  in  all  things — food,  clothes,  pleasures,  work,  etc. 

162 


FOURFOLD  PROGRAMS 


6.  Missions  and  Church  History. — A  study  of  the 
growth  and  development  of  the  church  through  the  ages,  and 
of  missions  and  social  service. 

The  fourfold  program  materials  outlined  in  the 
“ Christian  Citizenship  Training  Course  for  Boys”1 
and  in  ‘  ‘  Canadian  Girls  in  Training,  ’  ’ 2  are  both 
of  value  to  teachers  and  leaders  of  young  people; 
also  “A  Fourfold  Life  Program  for  Girls”3 4  and 
‘  ‘  The  Girl  Reserves  Manual  for  Leaders.  ’ ’  *  These 
booklets  contain  suggested  plans,  programs  and 
material  for  the  through-the-week  meetings  of  Sun¬ 
day-school  classes,  clubs,  etc.  The  “Christian  Citi¬ 
zenship  Course  for  Boys”  suggests  both  a  plan  and 
a  program  for  charting  the  fourfold  development 
of  teen-age  boys,  which  may  be  modified  and 
changed  to  suit  local  needs  and  conditions. 

There  are  those,  of  course,  who  look  with  dis¬ 
favor  upon  any  plan  or  program  that  attempts  to 
measure  fourfold  growth  and  development  in  a 
mechanical  way.  The  author,  however,  has  found 
both  the  “Christian  Citizenship  Training  Course  for 
Boys”  (Pioneer  and  Comrades’  Manual  and  Hand¬ 
book),  “Canadian  Girls  in  Training”  and  “A 
Fourfold  Life  Program  for  Qirls”  of  value  in 
helping  adolescent  boys  and  girls  to  discover  that 

1  Association  Press,  347  Madison  Ave.,  New  York  City. 

2  Canadian  National  Advisory  Committee,  504  Wesley  Bldg.,  To¬ 
ronto,  Ont.,  Can. 

3  Presbyterian  Committee  of  Publication,  Box  1176,  Richmond,  Va. 

4  Publication  Department,  National  Board,  Young  Women’s  Chris¬ 
tian  Association,  600  Lexington  Ave.,  New  York  City. 

163 


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FOURFOLD  PROGRAMS 


they  lacked  some  very  desirable  things;  to  make 
them  want  these  desirable  things  enough  to  strug¬ 
gle  for  them ;  and  to  plan  the  through-the-week 
programs  of  organized  classes  in  such  a  way  as  to 
help  young  people  to  secure  the  desired  develop¬ 
ment. 

The  following  outline  of  a  Fourfold  Life  Pro¬ 
gram  for  a  girls’  class  for  a  quarter  illustrates  a 
way  in  which  the  above  referred-to  program  sources 
may  be  adopted  and  used  by  church-school  teach¬ 
ers  and  leaders  in  building  fourfold  programs  for 
classes. 

SUGGESTED  FOURFOLD  LIFE  PROGRAM  FOR  A 

TEEN-AGE  GIRLS'  CLASS  FOR  A  QUARTER.1 * 

(Three  Months.) 

Class  Name — “ Willing  Workers." 

Motto — “Loyalty  to  Christ  and  the  Other  Girl." 

Colors — Green  and  W7hite. 

Flower — J  essamine. 

Signal — Three  fingers  on  the  back  of  left-hand  or  Bob- 
white  whistle. 

Scripture — Jas.  1:  22  and  2  Cor.  3:  2. 

Insignia. 

Class  WorTc. — Memorize  the  first  Psalm  and  eight  other 
passages  of  Scripture,  including  Jas.  1:  22  and  2  Cor.  3:  2, 
and  tell  where  found. 

Read  the  four  Gospels  through. 

Lead  in  public  prayer  at  least  twice  during  the  quarter. 

Give  to  Christian  work  regularly  (duplex  envelope). 

1  Used  with  the  permission  of  the  Department  of  Religious  Educa¬ 

tion  of  the  United  Christian  Missionary  Society. 

165 


I 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


Fourfold  Life  Program, 
physical. 

First  Aid. — Know  what  to  do  in  case  of  fainting,  burns, 
broken  bones,  sprains,  strains,  earache  and  poison. 

Health  Fjxercises. — Take  fifteen  minutes  of  health  exer¬ 
cises  regularly  each  morning. 

Outdoor  Life. — Know  how  to  swim  in  order  to  save  one¬ 
self.  Know  how  to  build  a  proper  camp-fire. 

Flay. — Challenge  another  girls’  class  to  a  match  game  of 
dodge-ball,  volley-ball  or  basket-ball. 

INTELLECTUAL. 

Thrift. — Earn  or  save  a  certain  amount  of  money  each 
month.  Know  how  to  write  a  check  and  what  to  <f0  to  stop 
payment.  Know  the  difference  between  a  checking  and  sav¬ 
ings  account,  and  how  to  draw  on  either. 

Parliamentary  Procedure. — Learn  three  common  parlia¬ 
mentary  rules:  How  to  address  the  chairman,  “How  to  make 
a  motion,”  and  “How  to  second  one.” 

Story-telling. — Tell  the  story  of  one  outstanding  Bible 
character,  and  of  one  modern  missionary  hero.  Where  found? 

Courtesy. — Know  how  to  be  a  proper  hostess — how  to  re¬ 
ceive  a  guest,  introduce  a  guest,  entertain  a  guest. 

SOCIAL. 

Group  Loyalty. — Attend  regularly  all  the  Sunday  and 
through-the-week  meetings  of  your  class. 

Home  Service. — Know  how  to  cook  two  vegetables  and  one 
kind  of  cake  and  pie. 

Entertainment. — Entertain  your  class  by  some  individual 
stunt  during  the  quarter,  or  help  .to  entertain  some  other 
group. 

Social  Contacts. — Know  the  names  and  addresses  of  all 
the  teachers  and  officers  of  your  department  of  the  church 
school. 


166 


FOURFOLD  PROGRAMS 


RELIGIOUS. 

Sytudy. — Spend  thirty  minutes  each  week  in  the  study  of 
your  Sunday-school  lesson,  taking  part  in  the  class  discussion. 
Know  the  class  “  insignia  ”  for  the  quarter. 

Service. — Win  another  to  attendance  at  the  church  school. 
Do  some  special  missionary  work  (as  an  individual  or  as  a 
group). 

Devotions. — Observe  the  “  Quiet  Hour”  or  “  Morning 
W'atch  ’  ’  regularly. 

Ideals. — Help  to  establish  in  your  own  life  and  others  the 
following  character  traits — cheerfulness,  promptness,  unself¬ 
ishness,  trustworthiness  and  co-operation. 

Note. — There  are  four  points  under  each  phase  of  this 
Fourfold  Life  Program  for  girls.  If  desired,  twenty-five  cred¬ 
its  may  be  allowed  for  each  point,  thus  making  it  possible 
for  each  girl  to  earn  four  hundred  credits  during  the  quar¬ 
ter.  The  total  number  of  credits  earned  divided  by  four  will 
give  her  fourfold  average  efficiency  for  the  quarter.  The  fol¬ 
lowing  rules  may  be  adopted,  if  desired: 

1.  All  tests  must  be  passed  before  the  teacher  or  group 
leader. 

2.  When  there  is  a  question,  the  test  must  be  done  over. 

3.  The  fourfold  average  is  ascertained  by  adding  the 
points  or  credits  earned  under  each  phase  and  dividing  the 
sum  by  four. 

4.  Pupils  ranking  as  much  as  75  per  cent,  in  the  four 
standards,  and  90  per  cent,  in  co-operation,  are  eligible  to 
have  their  names  placed  on  the  class  or  department  Fourfold 
Honor  Roll. 

TEACHING  OUTLINE 
Reasons  for  Fourfold  Programs. 

1.  Any  program  of  Christian  education  that  does  not  recog¬ 
nize  the  physical,  intellectual,  social  and  spiritual  need’s  and 
interests  of  adolescence  is  incomplete. 

167 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


(1)  Life  functions  as  a  unit: 

(a)  Can  not  save  souls  of  boys  and  girls  if  .they  are 
living  in  damned  physical  bodies. 

(b)  Can  not  save  souls  of  young  people  if  they  are 
living  in  an  immoral  mental  world. 

(c)  Can  not  save  boys  and  girls  if  social  relation¬ 
ships  are  impure. 

(d)  The  only  way  you  can  reach  soul  is  through  the 
body,  for  when  soul  has  cast  off  its  body,  we 
can  not  reach  it  at  all. 

(2)  A  fourfold  program  of  Christian  education  is  es¬ 
sential  to  the  complete  development  of  young  peo¬ 
ple. 

2.  Fundamental  law  in  human  development  is  activity. 

(1)  Expression  deepens  and  in  a  very  large  measure  de¬ 
termines  impression. 

(a)  Life  becomes,  learns  both  to  know  and  do,  by 
doing. 

(2)  Passion  on  part  of  young  people  to  live  the  thing 
they  are  thinking  about  affords  the  church  its  opportunity  to 
fix  ideals  and  guide  and  determine  character  development. 

(3)  Demand  for  activity  is  not  confined  to  one  day  in 
the  week — Sunday. 

(a)  Same  bundle  of  instincts  that  impel  action  on 
Monday,  Tuesday  and  Wednesday  impel  action 
on  Sunday,  and  vice  versa. 

3.  Young  people  make  no  distinction  between  things  sa¬ 
cred  and  secular. 

(1)  Trip  to  woods,  game  of  volley-ball,  afford  just 
as  fine  an  opportunity  to  teach  spiritual  truth  as 
classroom  on  Sunday. 

4.  Class  organization  is  the  normal  center  around  which 
the  activity  of  young  people  of  the  church  should  center. 

(1)  Otherwise  impression  and  expression  are  divorced, 
and  they  may  not  be. 

168 


FOURFOLD  PROGRAMS 


(a)  Wise  teachers  will  make  the  through-the-week 
sessions  of  their  classes  the  laboratory  for  test¬ 
ing  the  efficacy  of  lessons  learned. 

5.  Fourfold  programs  should  be  planned  in  advance  for 
at  least  a  quarter  at  a  .time,  so  that  they  will  develop  the 
physical,  intellectual,  social  and  religious  life  of  young 
people. 

(1)  For  suggested  program  for  fall  quarter,  see  pages 
152,  153  of  "  Youth  and  the  Church.  ” 

(2)  For  order  of  procedure  for  through-the-week  ses¬ 
sions  of  organized  classes,  see  page  130  of 
"  Youth  and  the  Church.  ” 

Physical  Program  m  Detail. 

1.  Why  physical  activities? 

(1)  Because  basis  of  all  development  is  physical. 

(a)  Eapid  physical  growth. 

(b)  Increase  in  both  quantity  and  temperature  of 
blood. 

(c)  Ceaseless  activity  generating  energy. 

(d)  Self-control  and  development  of  all  higher  rea¬ 
soning  powers  depend  upon  proper  interaction 
of  nerves  and  muscle. 

(e)  Adolescence  is  age  of  nerve  and  muscle  develop¬ 

ment. 

(f)  Because  95  per  cent,  of  all  interests  find  phy¬ 
sical  expression. 

(g)  Because  Jesus  should  beeome  the  physical  as 
well  as  the  spiritual  ideal  of  young  people. 

(2)  "As  long  as  we  live,  the  physical  will  be  with  us; 
it  is  not  to  be  despised,  but  respected;  not  to  be 
ignored,  but  developed;  not  to  be  abused,  but  used, 
and  used  to  the  glory  of  God. 1 1 — Slattery. 
"Know  ye  not  that  your  todies  are  the  temple  of 
the  Holy  Spirit?” — Paul. 

169 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


2.  Do  not  duplicate  the  public  school’s  program  of  phy¬ 
sical  education,  but  supplement  with  a  wider,  more  diversified 
range  of  physical  activities. 

(1)  Fifty-two  per  cent,  of  boys  and  girls  in  United 
States  not  in  public  schools  by  time  they  reach 
thirteen  years  of  age. 

(a)  Only  10  per  cent.,  of  total  enrollment  ever  do 
go  as  far  as  to  complete  a  full  four-year  high- 
school  course. 

3.  Program  in  detail: 

(1)  Health  education.  (Knowledge  of  the  laws  of 
health,  page  157  of  “ Youth  and  the  Church.”) 

(2)  Outdoor  life. 

(3)  Sports. 

(4)  First  aid  and  home  nursing. 

Intellectual  Program. 

1.  Why  intellectual  activities? 

(1)  Because  needs  of  mind  must  be  recognized  in  any 
four-square  program  of  development  for  young 
people. 

(a)  Mind  is  knowing,  feeling,  willing  power  in  hu¬ 
man  life,  and  controls  all  higher  moral  and 
spiritual  development. 

(b)  Capable  of  wonderful  development  and  growth. 

(c)  Teachers  should  encourage  young  people  to 
think  clearly,  choose  wisely,  act  courageously 
in  all  the  experiences  and  problems  of  life. 

(2)  Need  to  help  young  people  to  know  that  the  way  to 
inhibit  lower  tendencies  is  to  develop  the  mind  to 
live  on  a  higher  plane. 

2.  Program  in  detail: 

(1)  School,  college  or  vocational  training.  See  pages 
158,  159  of  il Youth  and  the  Church.” 

(2)  Educational  trips  and  lectures. 

(3)  Home  reading. 


170 


FOURFOLD  PROGRAMS 


(4)  Home-craft  and  handcraft. 

(5)  Music  and  art. 

(6)  Literary  ability. 

Social  Life  Program. 

1.  Why  social  activities? 

(1)  Life  is  not  lived  in  isolation,  but  in  social  groups, 
the  home,  school,  church  and  community;  and  the 
Christian  law  for  all  these  relationships  is  love , 
expressing  itself  in  service. 

(2)  Task  of  church  is  to  provide  and  properly  environ 
the  social  relationships  of  young  people  so  that 
they  will  become  constructive  in  the  character¬ 
building  process. 

(a)  Church  must  face  the  fact  that  social  instincts, 
play,  sex  attraction,  etc.,  are  natural,  normal, 
like  every  other  inborn  urge. 

(b)  World  must  live  together,  work  together,  play 
together,  love  together,  and  always  among  those 
who  live  and  love,  and  work  and  play,  the 
young  are  the  more  eager. 

2.  Suggested  social  program: 

(1)  Ability  to  entertain,  page  161  of  “Youth  and  the 
Church. 1  ’ 

(2)  Training  for  service. 

(3)  Good  citizenship  campaigns. 

(4)  Vocational  choices. 

Keligious  Program. 

1.  Definition — term  “  religion  ”  is  here  used  in  the  sense  of 
personal  relationships  on  the  part  of  young  people  toward 
God  and  man. 

2.  In  a  certain  sense  religion  may  not  be  separated  from 
all  other  phases  of  physical,  intellectual  and  social  develop¬ 
ment. 


171 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


(1)  There  are,  however,  certain  very  definite  attitudes 
toward  God  and  man  which  may  be  cultivated 
through  prayer,  Christian  conversation,  Bible  study, 
mission  study,  worship  and  self-denial  and  service 
which  tend  to  develop  life  along  the  line  of  rever¬ 
ential  attitudes  toward  God  and  man. 

(2)  The  program  of  the  organized  class  may  emphasize 
and  emotionalize  these  relationships. 

3.  Suggested  program  in  detail: 

(1)  Daily  devotions. 

(2)  Public  worship. 

(3)  Bible  and  mission  study. 

(4)  Stewardship. 

(5)  Self-denial  and  service.  (See  page  162  of  “Youth 
and  the  Church.  ”) 

Materials  that  Will  Help  in  Building  Fourfold 

Programs. 

1.  Christian  Citizenship  Training  Course  for  Boys — Asso¬ 
ciation  Press,  347  Madison  Ave.,  New  York  City. 

2.  Fourfold  Programs  for  Girls — Presbyterian  Committee 
on  Publication,  Richmond,  Ya. 

3.  Camp-fire  Girls’  Manual — Camp-fire  Girls’  Movement, 
New  York  City. 

4.  Boy  Scouts’  Manual — Boy  Scouts  of  America,  New 
York  City. 

Planning  Fourfold  Programs. 

1.  Plan  the  materials  and  program  for  each  group  for  at 
least  a  quarter  in  advance. 

(1)  Fall  quarter.* 

(2)  Winter  quarter.* 

(3)  Spring  quarter.* 

(4)  Summer  quarter.* 

*Note. — Sample  copies  of  seasonably  planned  fourfold 
programs  may  be  secured  in  mimeographed  form  from  the 

172 


FOURFOLD  PROGRAMS 


Lnited  Christian  Missionary  Society  (Department  of  Relig- 
ious  Education),  1501  Locust  St.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

QUESTIONS  FOR  STUDY  AND  DISCUSSION. 

1.  Give  three  reasons  for  fourfold  programs  of  develop¬ 
ment  for  young  people. 

2.  Name  three  things  that  should  be  included  in  each  of 
the  following  fourfold  standards  for  Intermediates  and  Sen¬ 
iors:  (1)  Physical.  (2)  Intellectual.  (3)  Social.  (4)  Re¬ 
ligious. 

3.  Give  the  sources  from  which  materials  may  be  obtained 
in  building  fourfold  programs  for  early  and  middle  adoles¬ 
cence. 

4.  Give  one  reason  for  including  each  of  the  following 
types  of  activities  in  a  program  of  development  for  young 
iors:  (1)  Physical.  (2)  Intellectual.  (3)  Social.  (4)  Re- 
Religious. 

5.  Outline  a  fourfold  program  for  a  class  for  a  quarter. 


173 


VII 


GRADED  WORSHIP 


HERE  was  a  time  when  the  teaching  of  the 


1  Bible  was  regarded  as  the  chief,  and  in  many 
churches  the  only,  task  of  the  Sunday  school.  In 
those  very  distant  years,  there  was  in  the  average 
Sunday  school  a  fifteen  or  twenty  minute  period 
of  “opening  exercises’ ’  (for  the  purpose,  usually, 
of  allowing  late-eomers  to  get  there  before  the  les¬ 
son  for  the  day  began),  a  twenty  or  thirty  min¬ 
ute  lesson  period,  and  a  ten  or  fifteen  minute 
closing  service.  The  opening  exercises  consisted  of 
one  or  two  songs,  a  prayer  (usually  longer  than  it 
was  intelligent),  the  reading  of  the  lesson  for  the 
day,  another  song,  and  then  the  announcement, 
“Classes  will  now  pass  to  their  places.”  The  closing 
service  was  even  less  interesting,  and,  as  a  rule,  less 
vital.  It  consisted  of  a  song,  the  secretary’s  report, 
a  five  or  ten  minute  lesson  review  conducted  by  a 
poorly  prepared  superintendent  (who  usually  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  undoing  the  work  of  every  conscientious 
teacher  in  the  school),  another  song,  the  announce¬ 
ments  and  benediction.  But  the  day  for  that  sort 
of  a  program  has  passed  in  the  life  of  every  Sunday 


174 


GRADED  WORSHIP 


school  making  even  a  pretension  at  the  task  of 
religious  education. 

With  the  coming  of  graded  lessons  for  the 
church’s  school,  there  has  come  also  a  knowledge 
that  God’s  child  is  a  graded  child,  and  that  all 
the  elements  that  enter  into  the  religious  education 
of  childhood  and  youth  must  of  necessity  be  graded 
and  adapted  to  meet  the  needs  of  developing  life. 
Naturally,  the  emphasis  at  first  was  upon  curricu¬ 
lum,  organization  and  equipment ;  hut  educators 
to-day  are  saying  that  there  must  he  not  only  a 
grading  of  the  instruction,  the  organization  and 
the  equipment,  but  graded  programs  of  worship 
and  expression  as  well.  With  this  new  emphasis 
we  have  begun  to  put  the  opening  and  closing 
exercises  of  the  Sunday  school  under  microscopic 
observation,  and  we  are  finding  that  most  of  the 
things  to  which  we  gave  a  great  deal  of  time  in  the 
past  might  well  be  eliminated  entirely  from  the 
educational  program  of  the  church’s  school.  We 
are  beginning,  now,  to  ask  a  question  that  we 
might  with  profit  have  asked  years  ago:  “What 
is  the  purpose  of  worship  in  connection  with  the 
Sunday  school?”  And  in  answer  to  that  question 
we  are  finding  the  opportunity  to  make  one  of  the 
finest  contributions  to  Christian  education  that  the 
church’s  school  has  yet  made. 

Worship  is  the  cry  of  the  human  soul  for  com¬ 
panionship  with  God.  It  grows  out  of  the  longing 
in  the  heart  of  man  for  the  fellowship  that  comes 

175 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


from  a  sense  of  being  in  harmony  with  the  will 
of  God  for  His  children.  It  expresses  itself  in  the 
language  of  the  soul,  the  emotions — in  hymns  of 
previse,  of  consecration,  of  assuremee;  in  prayers  of 
adoration,  communion  and  entreaty;  in  Scripture 
that  expresses  comfort,  consolation  and  blessing ; 
in  stories  of  love,  of  care  and  of  brotherhood.  For 
while  worship  is  always  addressed  to  God,  it  brings 
out  at  the  same  time  the  individual  and  social 
aspects  of  Christianity,  because  the  Christian  re¬ 
ligion  is  essentially  a  social  religion.  Worship, 
therefore,  is  essential  in  the  character-making  proc¬ 
ess  because  it  arises  out  of,  and  supplies,  certain 
universal  needs. 

Educators  are  agreed  that  any  complete  pro¬ 
gram  of  Christian  education  must  include  the 
three  factors — worship,  instruction  and  expression. 
Mr.  Hartshorne,  in  his  splendid  chapter  on  “The 
Purpose  of  Worship  in  the  Sunday  School,”1  sug¬ 
gests  that  the  purpose  of  worship  is  to  cultivate 
the  feelings.  It  deals  with  the  acquisition  of  new 
ideas  and  ideals  concerning  the  heavenly  Father, 
His  Son,  and  their  plans  and  purposes  for  human¬ 
ity.  The  purpose  of  expression  is  motor.  It  deals 
with  the  acquisition  of  new  habits  of  action  toward 
God  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  social  re¬ 
lationships  that  grow  out  of  their  plans  and  pur¬ 
poses  for  the  sons  of  men. 

1  Worship  in  the  Sunday  School,  Chap.  IV. 


176 


GRADED  WORSHIP 


Inasmuch  as  the  needs  of  each  group  vary 
(human  life  unfolds  gradually  from  infancy  to 
maturity),  separate  departmental  assembly-rooms 
for  each  normal  group  in  the  church-school’s  life 
are  essential  to  their  fullest  development. 

The  aim  in  work  with  young  people  is  “that  all 
worship,  all  instruction,  and  all  expression  shall 
issue  in  service  in  the  home,  church,  community 
and  world.”  The  educational  purpose  of  graded 
worship  in  the  Intermediate,  Senior  and  Young 
People’s  departments  of  the  church’s  school  is, 
therefore,  (1)  to  teach  boys  and  girls  to  worship 
through  the  conscious  cultivation  of  feelings  that 
have  to  do  with  new  attitudes  of  appreciation ; 
(2)  to  provide  opportunity  for  expression  through 
participation  in  worship  programs  that  are  graded 
and  adapted  to  meet  their  needs;  and  (3)  to  train 
young  people  for  service  in  the  realm  of  worship 
by  making  it  possible  for  them  to  have  part  in 
planning  and  conducting  worship  programs  ac¬ 
cumulating  and  correlating  materials,  etc. 

In  order  to  make  adequate  provision  for  train¬ 
ing  in  worship,  there  should  be  not  only  separate 
department  rooms,  but  a  certain  specified  time 
(fifteen  or  twenty  minutes),  in  connection  with 
either  the  opening  or  closing  service  of  the  church’s 
school,  in  which  these  normal  groups  may  have 
opportunity  for  worship  services  that  are,  graded 
and  adapted  to  their  individual  and  group  needs. 
Whether  or  not  that  time  precedes  or  follows  the 

12  177 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


lesson  period  is  not  so  material  as  that  it  shall  be 
sacred  to  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  intended,  and 
protected  from  everything  that  is  foreign  to  the 
spirit  of  worship.  It  is  quite  as  impossible  to 
train  young  people  to  worship  in  the  midst  of 
banging  doors,  ringing  bells,  announcements,  re¬ 
ports  and  the  arrival  of  late-comers,  as  it  is  chil¬ 
dren.  Careful  attention  should  be  given  to  the 
matter  of  protecting  the  department  worship  pro¬ 
gram  against  all  needless  interruptions  and  dis¬ 
tractions. 

Then,  too,  it  is  quite  as  much  the  duty  of  the 
counselor  (advisory  superintendent)  in  the  Inter¬ 
mediate,  Senior  and  Young  People’s  departments 
to  build  worship  programs  as  it  is  for  teachers  to 
build  lessons,  and  quite  as  essential,  if  real  training 
is  to  be  afforded  through  the  worship  service.  Mr. 
Hartshorne  says:  “Successful  training  in  worship 
depends  as  much  as  anything  on  having  a  complete 
and  accurate  record  of  what  is  done  in  these  wor¬ 
ship  services.  Provision  for  this  can  easily  be 
made  in  a  loose-leaf  note-book  or  in  some  other 
convenient  way.  If  an  original  story  is  used,  it 
should  be  given  complete  for  future  reference.  If 
other  stories  are  used,  they  should  be  referred  to 
carefully.  The  complete  order  of  service  from 
Sunday  to  Sunday  should  be  kept,  including  the 
names  of  hymns,  prayers,  psalms,  responses,  etc.”1 

1  Manual  for  Training  in  Worship  (p.  11). 


178 


Worship  Service,  Intermediate  Department,  First  Christian  Church,  Norfolk,  Va. 


GRADED  WORSHIP 


Then,  too,  teachers  and  department  officers  must 
co-operate  intelligently  if  the  worship  service  is 
to  mean  the  most  in  training  the  devotional  life 
of  young  people.  The  attitude  of  indifference,  or 
the  habit  of  visiting,  on  the  part  of  teachers  in  the 
department,  makes  it  impossible  for  pupils  to  par¬ 
ticipate  in  either  the  act  or  attitude  of  worship. 
The  whole  group — officers,  teachers,  pupils — must 
be  “with  one  accord  in  one  place’ ’  before  it  will 
be  possible  for  any  to  be  “in  the  Spirit  on  the 
Lord’s  day.” 

Usually  it  is  wise  to  have  a  devotional  or  pro¬ 
gram  committee  for  the  department,  composed  of 
representative  young  people.  This  committee,  work¬ 
ing  with  the  department  counselor,  should  build 
the  programs  from  week  to  week,  and  better  results 
will  be  obtained  if  the  themes  of  worship  are 
blocked  out  for  a  month  or  six  weeks  in  advance. 
The  young  people  should  be  used  both  in  planning 
and  in  executing  these  programs,  which  must 
always  be  comprehensive  enough  and  interesting 
enough  to  challenge  their  powers  and  enlist  their 
co-operation. 

Worship  services  should  be  builded  around 
themes  that  have  a  more  or  less  universal  appeal, 
such  as  faith,  hope,  love,  loyalty,  gratitude,  rever¬ 
ence,  service,  brotherhood,  music,  art,  literature, 
etc.;  and  all  the  elements  in  the  program  (hymns, 
prayers,  Scripture,  stories  and  talks)  should  be  so 
correlated  with  the  central  theme  as  to  fit  natural- 

179 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


ly  and  normally  there.  All  assignments  with  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  program,  either  individual  or  group, 
should  be  clear  and  definite;  and  plans  for  rehear¬ 
sals  of  special  songs,  Scripture  responses,  drama¬ 
tizations,  stories,  etc.,  should  be  arranged  for. 

Parts  of  the  Program. 

Music  for  adolescents  should  be  of  the  very  best, 
because  it  is  during  these  adolescent  years  that  it 
has  its  greatest  natural  appeal.  Charles  Kingsley 
says :  ‘  ‘  There  is  something  very  wonderful  in  music. 
Words  are  wonderful  enough,  but  music  is  more 
wonderful.  It  speaks  not  to  our  thoughts  as  words 
do;  it  speaks  straight  to  our  hearts  and  spirits,  to 
the  very  core  and  root  of  our  souls.  Music  soothes 
us,  stirs  us  up ;  it  puts  noble  feelings  into  us ;  it 
melts  us  to  tears,  we  know  not  how.  It  is  a  lan¬ 
guage  by  itself,  just  as  perfect,  in  its  ways  of  speech, 
as  words;  just  as  divine,  just  as  blessed.”  Music 
is  one  of  the  mightiest  factors  in  human  life  in  its 
influence  on  ideas,  moods  and  ideals.  G-.  Stanley 
Hall  says:  “For  the  average  youth  there  is  prob¬ 
ably  no  other  such  an  agent  for  educating  the  heart 
to  love  Cod,  home,  country,  and  for  cadencing  the 
whole  emotional  nature,  as  music.”  Hence  the 
need  of  cultivating,  during  the  adolescent  years, 
an  appreciation  for  the  finest  in  music  as  well  as 
in  art  and  literature. 

Three  types  of  hymns  appeal  especially  during 
these  years:  (1)  Those  that  express  the  idea  of 

180  , 


GRADED  WORSHIP 


individual  religious  experience — “Nearer,  My  God, 
to  Thee,”  “0  Love  that  Wilt  Not  Let  Me  Go,”  etc. 
(2)  Those  that  express  the  idea  of  social  goodness 
or  the  goodness  of  the  group.  Under  this  head 
come  nearly  all  the  martial  hymns  of  the  church — 
“Faith  of  Our  Fathers,”  “Onward,  Christian  Sol¬ 
diers,”  etc.  (3)  Those  that  express  the  idea  of 
world  salvation — “Jesus  Shall  Reign,”  “Where 
Cross  the  Crowded  Ways  of  Life,”  etc. 

Dr.  Ainslie  says:  “Music  is  religious  or  irre¬ 
ligious  according  to  the  set  of  emotions  it  stirs.  ” 
If  this  statement  is  true,  and  it  is,  then  all  jazz 
music,  music  with  syncopated  time,  music  that 
makes  its  chief  appeal  to  the  heels  instead  of  the 
head  and  the  heart,  should  be  excluded  in  building 
worship  programs  for  young  people.  The  words 
and  music  ought  always  to  tell  the  same  story;  and 
both  should  be  selected  with  the  needs  and  interests 
of  adolescents  in  mind. 

Scripture :  Rauschenbusch  says:  “Only  that 
much  of  the  Bible  is  yours  that  has  become  so 
through  experience.  * 9  In  selecting  passages  of 
Scripture  for  devotional  use  in  connection  with 
worship  programs,  this  fact  should  be  borne  in 
mind;  and  Biblical  passages  that  are  far  beyond 
a  possible  life  experience  or  situation  for  young 
people  omitted.  The  Bible  is  full  of  passages  the 
content  of  which  has  already  been  experienced  by 
young  people.  Teachers  and  department  counselors 
will  be  helped  by  a  study  of  the  Psalms,  the  mes- 

181 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


sages  of  the  prophets,  the  Gospels  and  Epistles  from 
the  viewpoint  of  their  relation  to  the  life  expe¬ 
riences  and  situations  of  young  people.  The  mem¬ 
ory  Scriptures  suggested  in  connection  with  the 
Intermediate,  Senior  and  Young  People’s  graded 
lessons  can  be  used  in  a  splendid  way  in  responsive 
work  in  the  department  program. 

Mumbling,  inaccurate  reading  of  Scripture, 
glib  parroting  it  off  in  an  irreverent  manner,  should 
be  discouraged.  Young  people  need  to  he  taught 
to  prepare  for  the  reverent  reading  or  quoting  of 
Scripture  in  worship  programs  just  as  they  would 
prepare  for  a  talk  or  the  leading  in  public  prayer. 
Without  it  they  often  become  a  hindrance  both  to 
themselves  and  others  in  the  growth  of  reverential 
attitudes  in  worship. 

Prayers  that  are  made  for  and  by  adolescents 
should  be  for  specific  things  and  persons.  A 
study  of  your  community  and  of  the  missions  and 
missionaries,  both  denominational  and  interdenomi¬ 
national,  locating  each  missionary  in  his  field  and 
becoming  familiar  with  the  type  of  work  done, 
will  make  it  possible  for  the  department  leader¬ 
ship  to  help  young  people  to  pray  intelligently  and 
specifically  for  the  needs  of  the  community  and 
the  world.  The  suggesting  of  themes  of  inter¬ 
cession  will  also  make  for  definite  and  specific 
prayer.  Encourage  young  people  to  make  and  keep 
their  own  prayer  lists — their  own  individual  needs; 
the  needs  of  their  homes,  schools,  friends,  etc. ;  the 

182 


GRADED  WORSHIP 


needs  of  their  church  and  community;  the  needs 
of  the  wide,  wide  world  including  the  missions  and 
missionaries  of  their  own  communion— to  use  this 
prayer  list  for  their  own  private  devotions.  Out 
of  this  will  come  such  an  enriching  of  their  own 
devotional  life  as  will  make  public  prayer  sponta¬ 
neous,  reverent,  natural  and  worshipful. 

Stories  and  Talks:  Do  not  belittle  the  place 
of  the  feelings  in  these  older  years.  Short 
stories  and  inspirational  talks,  intelligently  given, 
may  be  used  to  nourish  the  emotions  in  a  natural 
and  legitimate  way.  Stories  of  victory,  of  achieve¬ 
ment,  of  sacrifice,  of  service,  stir  the  hearts  of 
young  people  and  give  motive  for  decisions  that 
often  change  the  whole  current  of  a  life.  The 
missionary  publications  of  your  own  and  other 
communions — the  World  Call,  the  Outlook,  Every- 
land  Magazine — these  and  other  sources  will  pro¬ 
vide  the  necessary  material  for  these  short  talks 
and  stories.  Most  of  the  missionary  boards  are  now 
publishing  regularly  booklets  or  magazines  that 
contain  material  that  has  been  prepared  for  just 
such  use  as  this. 

Planning  Worship  Services. 

In  selecting  themes  of  worship  it  is  better,  as 
a  rule,  to  make  them  more  or  less  seasonal  in  their 
appeal.  For  illustration,  “Faith”  is  a  splendid 
theme  for  October.  At  least  four  worth-while 
programs  might  be  builded  around  such  a  theme: 

183 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


1.  What  Faith  Is. 

2.  How  One  Gets  Faith. 

3.  What  Faith  Does  for  One. 

4.  What  Faith  Makes  One  Do  for  Others. 

The  story  of  Abraham  indicates  in  a  splendid 
way  what  “faith”  is.  The  conversation  between 
Philip  and  the  Ethiopian  eunuch  depicts  in  a 
dramatic  way  how  one  gets  faith.  The  story  of 
Paul  shows  what  faith  does  in  human  life;  and  the 
story  of  Livingstone,  what  faith  makes  one  do  for 
others. 

The  theme  “Gratitude”  fits  naturally  the  month 
of  November,  leading  up  to  Thanksgiving,  our 
national  “gratitude  day.”  “Love”  is  ideal  as  a 
theme  for  December,  with  its  climax  at  Christmas 
in  the  gift  of  God’s  own  Son  to  the  world.  “Ser¬ 
vice”  follows  naturally  the  outpouring  of  love, 
and  might  be  used  early  in  the  new  year.  Other 
topics  will  suggest  themselves  as  special  needs  or 
occasions  occur. 

The  following  sources  of  material  will  be  found 
helpful  in  planning  worship  programs  for  adoles¬ 
cents  : 

“Manual  for  Training  in  Worship/ 1  Hartshome. 

“Stories  for  Worship  and  How  to  Follow  Up/’  Harts- 
horne. 

“Story  Worship  Programs  for  the  Church-school  Year/* 
Stowell. 

1 1  The  Story  of  Hymns  and  Tunes,  *  ’  Butterworth  and 
Brown. 

“History  of  Hymn  Tunes/ 1  Breed. 

184 


GRADED  WORSHIP 


*  ‘  The  Story  of  American  Hymns,  ”  Ninde. 

“The  Hymnal  for  American  Youth.,’ ’  Smith. 

“ Stories  of  Hymns  in  Hymnal  for  American  Youth,” 
Eggleston. 

“Hymns  for  To-day,”  Fillmore. 

‘ 1  Dramatized  Bible  Stories,  ’  ’  Bussell. 

“Dramatized  Missionary  Stories,”  Bussell. 

“Making  Missions  Beal,”  Stowell. 

“A  Worship  Book  for  Boys  and  Girls,”  Humbert. 

In  addition  to  these  sources,  nearly  all  the  mis¬ 
sionary  boards  of  the  various  communions  pub¬ 
lish  from  year  to  year  booklets  containing  brief 
three  to  five  minute  missionary  stories  and  in¬ 
cidents,  map  talks,  etc.,  and  special-day  programs 
that  should  be  made  available  to  young  people  in 
planning  their  worship  programs. 

Suggestive  Programs. 

(For  General  and  Special  Occasions.) 

Time  required  for  the  following  services,  twenty 
minutes.  The  program  to  precede  the  class  period, 
preferred.  The  programs  which  follow  are  merely 
suggestive.  Each  department  superintendent 
(counselor)  should  prepare,  with  the  aid  of  the 
Program  or  Devotional  Committee  of  the  depart¬ 
ment,  the  worship  service  from  week  to  week.  The 
order  given  in  the  following  services  may  serve  as 
a  guide  in  building  programs,  and  the  materials 
suggested  are  typical  of  the  elements  that  should 
enter  into  worship  programs  for  Intermediates, 

Seniors  and  Young  People. 

185 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


GENERAL  PROGRAM. 

Organ  or  Piano  Prelude  (quiet  music  as  a  signal  for 
pupils  to  take  their  places  for  the  morning  worship). 

Opening  Hymn — 1 1  Safely  Through  Another  Week.  ’ 
(At  the  sound  of  a  chord  from  the  instrument,  all  rise  and 
remain  standing  through  the  hymn  and  prayer  that  follows.) 

Silent  Prayer  (at  the  close  of  which  all  may  unite  in 
repeating:  “The  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are  his;  and  let 
every  one  that  nameth  the  name  of  tho  Lord  depart  from 
unrighteousness.  ’ , — 2  Tim.  2:19). 

Responsive  Memory  Scripture — the  nineteenth  Psalm 
(given  responsively  by  the  two  first-year  Intermediate  classes. 
Let  the  whole  department  join  in  the  closing  verse). 

Hymn — “Just  as  I  Am”  (the  new  words  to  the  old  tune 
“  Woodworth”). 

“Just  as  I  am,  Thine  own  to  be, 

Friend  of  the  young,  who  lovest  me; 

To  consecrate  myself  to  Thee, 

0  Saviour  dear,  I  come  to  Thee. 

“In  the  glad  morning  of  my  youth 
My  life  to  give,  my  vows  to  pay; 

With  no  reserve  and  no  delay, 

With  all  my  heart,  I  come,  I  come. 

“I  would  live  ever  in  the  light, 

I  would  work  ever  for  the  right, 

I  would  serve  Thee  with  all  my  might, 

Therefore  to  Thee  I  come,  I  come. 

“Just  as  I  am,  young,  strong  and  free, 

To  be  the  best  that  I  can  he, 

For  truth  and  righteousness  and  Thee, 

Lord  of  my  life,  I  come,  I  come.” 

Announcements  (such  as  are  necessary.  By  the  presi¬ 
dent  or  department  counselor). 

Birthday  Greetings — Have  pupils  who  have  had  a  birth¬ 
day  during  the  week  stand,  while  the  secretary  passes  the 
birthday  box  or  basket  to  them.  Then,  while  they  are  stand¬ 
ing,  let  the  department  greet  them  by  repeating: 

“Many  happy  returns  of  the  day  of  thy  birth, 

May  sunshine  and  gladness  be  given ; 

And  may  the  dear  Father  prepare  thee,  on  earth. 

For  a  beautiful  birthday  in  heaven.” 

1818 


GRADED  WORSHIP 


Story  (if  missionary,  told  by  the  chairman  of  the  Mission¬ 
ary  Committee  of  the  department  or  of  one  of  the  classes. 
Vary  this  item  from  week  to  week.  Sometimes  a  Bible 
character,  a  travelogue  or  current  events  that  have  a  re¬ 
ligious  significance). 

Hymn  (in  keeping  with  the  spirit  of  the  above  item. 
If  missionary,  then  a  missionary  hymn,  etc.). 

Prayer  (for  the  consecration  of  selves,  by  one  of  the 
department  teachers  or  pupils). 

Martial  M!usic  (“  Onward,  Christian  Soldiers, ”  as  classes 
move  to  their  classrooms  or  places). 

SPECIAL  PROGRAMS. 

No.  I.  THEME:  “How  God  Speaks  to  Us.” 

Organ  Prelude  (quiet  music). 

Call  to  Worship  (in  unison) — “Oh  worship  the  Lord  in 
the  beauty  of  holiness.  Enter  into  his  gates  with  thanks¬ 
giving,  and  into  his  courts  with  praise.  ” 

Hymn — “O  Worship  the  King’’  (vs.  1  and  3). 

Invocation — “  The  Lord ’s  Prayer.  ’  ’ 

Scripture  Lesson — “How  God  Speaks  to  Us”  (Isa.  6: 

1-8). 

Hymn — “Holy,  Holy,  Holy”  (vs.  1  and  2,  preceded  by 
the  story  of  Reginald  Heber  and  how  he  came  to  write  this 
great  hymn). 

Period  of  Intercession  (topics  suggested  by  the  leader. 
See  “Manual  for  Training  in  Worship,”1  pp.  79  and  80, 
for  suggested  topics  of  intercession). 

Duet — “In  the  Garden”  (Intermediate  girls). 

Announcements,  birthday  greeting  ,and  offering. 

Story — 1 1  Two  Thousand  Miles  for  a  Book 1  ’ 2  with  the  fol¬ 
lowing  introduction:  “And  now  and  then  God  speaks  to  us 
through  the  voice  of  a  people.  -  [pupil’s  name]  will 

1  Hartshorne. 

2  Heralds  of  the  Gross  Among  Early  Americans,  Mans  (pp.  5-8). 

187 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


tell  us  how  He  spoke  to  us  through  the  voice  of  the  Nez 
Perce  Indians”). 

Prayer  of  Consecration  (by  one  of  the  department 
teachers) . 

Hymn — “ Jesus  Calls  Us”  (vs.  1,  2  and  4). 

Processional  (as  classes  pass  to  classrooms  or  places). 

No.  II.  THEME:  “ Loyalty’ ’  (to  be  conducted 

by  boys). 

Organ  Prelude — 1 1  March  and  Chorus”  (Tannhauser). 

Call  to  Worship  (in  unison) — 

“God  is  our  refuge  and  strength, 

A  very  present  help  in  trouble”  (Ps.  46:  1). 

Hymn — 1 1  Faith  of  Our  Fathers.  ’  ’ 

Prayer  (see  p.  147,  Chap.  VIII.,  of  Hie  “Manual  for 
Training  in  Worship” — Hartshorne). 

Scripture — Eph.  6 :  10-19.  (Precede  the  Scripture  by  hav¬ 
ing  a  soldier  in  full  uniform  explain  the  meaning  and  use 
of  his  equipment  in  the  service  of  the  national  army.  At 
the  conclusion  of  his  talk  unfurl  the  American  flag,  and, 
with  the  group  standing,  sing  one  verse  of  “The  Star-Span¬ 
gled  Banner.”  Then  have  some  older  boy  in  the  department 
stand  by  the  national  soldier  and  read,  from  memory  if 
possible,  the  Scripture  reference  given  above,  thus  showing 
the  necessary  equipment  of  the  Christian  soldier.  At  the  con¬ 
clusion,  unfurl  the  Christian  flag  and  sing:  “The  Son  of  God 
Goes  Forth  to  War.”) 

Period  of  Intercession — For  “Our  Soldiers,”  “Our  Coun¬ 
try,”  “The  Church,”  “The  World.” 

Hymn — “America,”  using  as  the  last  verse: 

“God  save  our  splendid  men, 

Bring  them  safe  home  again; 

God  save  our  men. 

Keep  them  victorious, 

Patient  and  chivalrous — 

They  are  so  dear  to  us. 

God  save  our  men.” 

Processional  (as  classes  pass  to  their  places). 

188 


GRADED  WORSHIP 


No.  III.  THEME:  “ Service’ ’  (to  be  conducted 

by  girls). 

Organ  Prelude — ‘ 1  Traumerei ’ '  (Schumann). 

Call  to  Worship  (in  unison)  — 

"Not  unto  us,  0  Jehovah,  not  unto  us, 

But  unto  thy  name  give  glory, 

For  thy  lovingkindness,  and  for  thy  truth’s  sake.” 

(Ps.  115:  1.) 

Short  Sketch  of  the  Life  of  Fanny  Crosby  (with  the  an¬ 
nouncement  that  the  songs  of  the  service  are  selected  from 
her  writings). 

Hymn — “Holy,  Holy,  Holy  Is  the  Lord.” 

Prayer,  followed  by  the  choir  response  (softly),  “The 
Lord's  Prayer,”  by  T.  Koschat. 

Scripture — Matt.  28:  1-8. 

Missionary  Instruction — 

1.  Story  (some  phase  of  woman's  work). 

2.  Prayer  (naming  the  missionary  or  missionaries). 

3.  Song — “Face  to  Face  with  Christ  My  Saviour.” 
Processional  to  Classes. 

(If  this  service  is  used  in  connection  with  a  “Women's 
and  Girls’  Day  Program,”  and  the  girls  are  to  have  part  in 
the  church  service  following,  the  items  given  below  are  sug¬ 
gested  for  further  participation  on  the  part  of  girls.) 

Short  Talks — 

1.  “Representative  Women  of  the  Bible”  (material 
to  be  taken  from  the  book  of  that  name  by  George 
Matheson). 

2.  “Representative  Women  of  To-day”  [using  names 
and  incidents  in  regard  to  women  of  modern  times 
who  have  done  various  types  of  missionary,  benevo¬ 
lent  and  social-service  work.  See  ( 1  Heroines  of 
Service,”  by  Parkman,  for  stories  of  representa¬ 
tive  women  of  the  present  and  past  century. 

3.  Special  Music  (“O  Love  that  Will  Not  Let  Me  Go,” 
by  the  blind  preacher,  George  Matheson,  can  be 

189 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


used  effectively  as  a  sclo  or  duet  between  the  talks. 
It  would  be  fitting  to  mention  the  fact  that  he  is 
the  author  both  of  the  song  and  the  book,  “Bepre- 
sentative  Women  of  the  Bible,”  from  which  the 
Bible  story  or  stories  were  taken). 

No.  IV.  THEME:  “The  Message  of  Music.” 

Organ  Prelude. 

Call  to  Worship — 

“Oh  come,  let  us  sing  unto  Jehovah; 

Let  us  make  a  joyful  noise  to  the  rock  of  our  salvation.” 

(Ps.  95:  1.) 

Hymn — “0  Worship  the  King. ” 

Short  Talk  on  “The  Message  of  Music’ ’  (material  may 
be  found  in  the  “Manual  for  Training  in  Worship,”  by 
Hartshorne,  p.  45 ;  “Music,”  p.  80;  “Music  and  Prayer,”  p. 
81;  Introduction  to  Handel’s  “Largo,”  followed  by  “Lar¬ 
go,”  as  a  piano  or  organ  solo). 

Instrumental  Music — ‘ 1  Largo  ’  ’  (Handel) . 

Short  Sketch  of  the  Life  of  Martin  Luther  as  a  hymn- 
writer,  introducing  the 

Hymn — “A  Mighty  Fortress  Is  Our  God”  (material 
found  in  “Famous  Hymns  of  the  World,”  by  Sutherland, 
pp.  159-178). 

Birthday  Greeting  and  Announcements. 

Inspirational  “Life-work”  Talk  (challenging  young  peo¬ 
ple  to  the  dedication  of  musical  talent  to  the  work  of  the 
Kingdom). 

Prayer  of  Consecration  (by  the  department  counselor, 
or  one  of  the  teachers,  followed  by  the  singing  of  a  hymn). 

Hymn — “Faith  of  Our  Fathers.” 

Processional  to  Classes. 

(Note. — If  the  time  does  not  permit  of  so  long  a  service, 
eliminate  the  first  song  rather  than  omit  any  verses  from 
“A  Mighty  Fortress  Is  Our  God.” 

190 


GRADED  WORSHIP 


No.  V.  A  Special  “Thanksgiving  Day”  Service. 
THEME:  “A  Joyous  Life  Gives  Thanks.” 

Organ  Prelude. 

Call  to  Worship — 

“O  go  your  way  into  his  gates  with  thanksgiving, 

And  into  his  courts  with  praise. 

Be  thankful  unto  him,  and  speak  good  of  his  name. 

For  the  Lord  is  good;  his  kindness  endureth  for  ever, 

And  his  faithfulness  unto  all  generations.” 

Hymn — 1 1  Zion  the  Marvelous  Story  Is  Telling. * * 

Prayer  of  Thanksgiving  (No.  5,  p.  148,  of  the  “Manual 
for  Training  in  Worship,”  by  Hartshorne). 

Scripture  Reading  (responsive) — Luke  2:  8-14. 

Hymn — “All  Hail  the  Power  of  Jesus*  Name**  (tune: 
“ Miles  Lane’*). 

One-minute  Reasons  Why  Christians  Should  Be  Glad. 
Have  seven  young  people  in  the  department  each  give  one 
reason,  quoting  from  memory  the  following  Bible  references: 

1.  Rest  assured — Matt.  11:  28. 

2.  Absence  of  fear — John  14:  1. 

3.  A  Bearer  of  burdens — Ps.  55:  22. 

4.  Co-operation  in  service — John  13:  12-15. 

5.  A  Friend  and  Counselor — John  13:  33-35. 

6.  Saves  from  sins — Matt.  1:  21;  Mark  2:  15-17. 

7.  Assures  the  future — John  14:  2,  3. 

Song — “Welcome,  Bay  of  Gladness”  (p.  128,  “The  Book 
of  Worship,”  by  Hartshorne). 

Five-minute  Talk — On  “The  Joy  of  Service”  (by  the  de¬ 
partment  counselor  or  pastor.  See  1 1  The  Manhood  of  the 
Master,”  by  Fosdick,  and  “Quiet  Talks  on  Service,”  by  Gor¬ 
don,  for  materials). 

Prayer  (for  the  power  and  willingness  to  serve — by  a 
teacher). 

Hymn — “Hark!  the  Voice  of  Jesus  Calling.** 

Processional  to  Classes. 


191 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


(Note. — If  the  whole  school  assembles  at  the  close  of 
the  teaching-  period,  the  President’s  annual  ‘ 1  Thanksgiving 
Pay  Proclamation  ’  ’  should  be  read,  followed  by  the  hymn, 
“ Crown  Him  with  Many  Crowns,”  and  a  closing  prayer 
of  “ national  thanksgiving”  for  the  blessings  America  has 
received  during  the  year.) 

No.  VI.  A  Special  Christmas  Day  Service. 
THEME:  “The  Spirit  of  Christmas.” 

Organ  Prelude — “Holy  Night,”  by  Gruber  (tune:  “Stille 
Nacht”). 

Call  to  Worship — 

“Oh  come,  let  us  worship  and  how  down ; 

Let  us  kneel  before  the  Lord  our  Maker: 

For  he  is  our  God, 

And  we  are  the  people  of  his  pasture, 

And  the  sheep  of  his  hands.” 

Hymn — “It  Came  upon  a  Midnight  Clear. ” 

Prayer  (for  the  spirit  of  love). 

Scripture  Beading — Luke  2:  1-20  (from  memory  if  pos¬ 
sible)  . 

Hymn — “While  Shepherds  Watched  Their  Flocks”  (Han¬ 
del). 

Ann  ouncements. 

Story — “The  First  Christmas  Tree”  (by  Eugene  Field, 
from  “A  Little  Book  of  Profitable  Tales,”  or  “The  Spirit 
of  Christmas,”  by  Evelyn  Norton). 

Prayer  (that  the  spirit  of  Christmas  may  be  ours — by 
the  department  counselor  or  the  general  superintendent). 

Hymn — “Tell  the  News  to  All  the  Nations”  (Whitley). 

Special  Self-denial  Offering  (for  some  definite  work  for 
others  that  will  show  in  some  measure  the  department ’s 
“white  gift”  to  the  King). 

Prayer  of  thanksgiving  for  the  heavenly  Father’s  White 
Gift  to  humanity. 

Processional  to  Classes. 


192 


GRADED  WORSHIP 


No.  VII.  A  Special  Easter  Service. 
THEME:  “Joy  to  the  World.” 

Organ  Prelude — “Messiah”  (Handel). 

Call  to  Worship — 

“Praise  ye  the  Lord. 

Praise  the  Lord,  O  my  soul. 

While  I  live  will  I  praise  the  Lord: 

I  will  sing  praises  unto  my  God  while  I  have  any  being.” 

(Ps.  146:  1,  2.) 

Hymn — “The  Hay  of  Resurrection”  (tune:  “Lanca¬ 
shire,”  p.  110  in  “Worship  and  Song,”  by  Winchester  and 
Conant). 

Scripture  Reading — John  14:  1-10,  15,  27. 

The  Lord ’s  Prayer. 

Hymn — “Christ  the  Lord  Is  Risen  To-day”  (p.  124,  “The 
Book  of  Worship,”  Hartshorne). 

Announcements  and  Birthday  Greetings. 

Story — “Jesus,  the  Explorer,”  or  “Peter”  (pp.  104 
and  105  and  110-112  of  “The  Manual  for  Training  in  Wor¬ 
ship,”  Hartshorne). 

Solo — “You  Ask  Me  How  I  Gave  My  Heart  to  Christ” 
(Cora  Willis  Ware — sheet  music). 

Leader's  Prayer. 

Hymn — “O  Jesus,  Thou  Art  Standing.  ” 

Processional  to  Classes. 

(Note. — If  the  school  reassembles  following  the  class 
period,  it  is  well  to  have  the  pastor  make  a  special  Decision 
Day  appeal  to  young  people  to  give  themselves  to  Christ  in 
service.  Follow  the  appeal  by  some  such  hymn  as  “Jesus 
Calls  Us,”  giving  young  people  an  opportunity  to  accept 
Christ  as  a  personal  Saviour.) 

The  extension,  Christian  Endeavor,  Epworth 
League  or  B.  Y.  P.  U.  meetings  of  each  of  these 
departments — Intermediate,  Senior  and  Young 
People’s — provide  splendid  opportunity  for  the 

13  193 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


training  of  young  people  in  the  building  and 
executing  of  devotional  programs  of  development. 
The  United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor,  and  the 
missionary  boards  of  the  various  communions,  pro¬ 
vide  an  abundance  of  material  under  the  follow¬ 
ing  heads: 

Christian  Endeavor  Missionary  Programs  (twelve  for  each 
year). 

Special  Day  Programs  (Christian  Endeavor,  Citizenship, 
etc.). 

Stewardship  Programs.1 

Church  History  Programs. 

Missionary  and  Biblical  Plays,  Pageants,  etc. 

Many  other  types  are  available.  Some  of  this 
material  is  current  and  some  of  it  of  a  more  or  less 
permanent  type  that  may  be  used  at  any  time. 
Leaders  of  young  people  need  to  keep  continually 
on  the  outlook  for  the  freshest  and  best  materials 
of  all  types  and  kinds. 

TEACHING  OUTLINE 
What  Is  Worship? 

1.  Worship  is  the  cry  of  the  human  soul  for  companionship 
with  God.  It  grows  out  of  the  longing  in  the  heart  of  man 
for  the  fellowship  that  comes  from  a  sense  of  being  in  har¬ 
mony  with  the  will  of  God  for  His  children. 

2.  It  expresses  itself  in  the  language  of  the  soul,  the 
emotions : 


1  The  Missionary  Education  Movement,  New  York  City,  publishes 
a  splendid  series  of  Stewardship  Programs  worthy  of  the  study  of 
any  group  of  young  people. 


194 


GRADED  WORSHIP 


(1)  In  hymns  of  praise,  of  consecration,  of  assurance. 

(2)  In  prayers  of  adoration,  communion  and  entreaty. 

(3  In  Scripture  that  expresses  comfort,  consolation 

and  blessing. 

(4)  In  stories  of  love,  of  care  and  of  brotherhood. 
Tor  while  worship  is  always  addressed  .to  God,  it 
brings  out  at  the  same  time  the  individual  and  so¬ 
cial  aspects  of  Christianity,  because  the  Christian 
religion  is  essentially  a  social  religion. 

3.  Worship  is  essential  in  the  character-making  process 
because  it  arises  out  of  and  supplies  certain  universal  needs. 

Educational  Purpose  of  Worship  in  Church  and  School. 

1.  The  purpose  of  worship  is  to  cultivate  the  feelings 
(emotions).  Mr.  Hartshorne  says:  “It  deals  with  the  acqui¬ 
sition  of  new  attitudes  of  appreciation  with  relation  to  God, 
the  Father,  and  Jesus  Christ,  His  Son.  ” 

2.  The  educational  purpose  of  graded  worship  in  the 
church’s  school  is: 

(1)  To  teach  boys  and  girls  to  worship  through  a 
conscious  cultivation  of  feelings  that  have  to  do 
with  new  attitudes  of  appreciation. 

(2)  To  provide  opportunity  for  expression  through  par¬ 
ticipation  in  worship  programs  that  are  graded 
and  adapted  to  meet  their  needs. 

(3)  To  train  young  people  for  service  in  the  real  wor¬ 
ship  by  making  it  possible  for  them  to  have  part 
in  planning  and  conducting  worship  programs,  ac¬ 
cumulating  and  correlating  materials,  etc. 

Principles  that  Should  Guide  in  Building  Worship 

Programs. 

1.  Worship  services  should  be  builded  around  themes  that 
have  a  more  or  less  universal  appeal,  such  as  faith,  love,  grat¬ 
itude,  loyalty,  reverence,  service,  music,  art,  poetry,  etc. 

195 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


2.  All  the  elements  in  the  program  should  be  so  correlated 
ns  to  fit  naturally  into  the  theme. 

(1)  This  includes  the  music  (hymns,  instrumental, 
special),  prayers,  Scripture  material,  short  talks 
and  stories. 

3.  Use  boys  and  girls  and  young  people  for  every  item 

in  the  program. 

4.  Assignments  should  be  made  sufficiently  in  advance  so 
as  to  make  it  possible  for  young”  people  to  contribute  their 
part  in  such  a  manner  as  will  make  it  a  vehicle  of  worship 
for  others. 

Parts  of  the  Program. 

1.  Music: 

(1)  For  adolescents  should  be  of  the  very  best,  because 
it  is  during  these  years  that  it  has  its  greatest 
natural  appeal. 

(2)  Dr.  Ainslie  says:  “  Music  is  religious  or  irreligious 
according  to  the  set  of  emotions  it  stirs.  ”  There¬ 
fore  ragtime  music,  or  music  with  syncopated  time, 
has  no  place  in  a  worship  program. 

(3)  G.  Stanley  Hall  says:  “For  the  average  youth 
there  is  probably  no  other  such  agent  for  educat¬ 
ing  the  heart  to  love  God,  home,  country  and  for 
cadencing  the  whole  emotional  nature  as  music. y  y 
Hence  the  need  of  cultivating,  during  the  adoles¬ 
cent  years,  an  appreciation  for  the  finest  in  music 
as  well  as  in  art  and  literature. 

(4)  Types  of  hymns  that  have  an  especial  appeal : 

(a)  Those  that  express  idea  of  individual  religious 
experience — “Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee,” 
“Abide  with  Me, ”  “O  Love  that  Wilt  Not 
Let  Me  Go.” 

(b)  Those  that  express  the  idea  of  social  goodness, 
or  the  goodness  of  the  group.  Under  this  head 
come  nearly  all  the  great  martial  hymns  of 
the  church — “Faith  of  Our  Fathers,”  “On- 

196 


GRADED  WORSHIP 


ward,  Christian  Soldiers, ”  “The  Son  of  God 
Goes  Forth  to  War. ” 

(c)  Those  that  express  the  idea  of  world  salvation 
— the  lure  of  the  far-away.  Under  this  head 
come  nearly  all  the  great  missionary  hymns  of 
the  church — “Jesus  Shall  Reign, ”  “Where 
Cross  the  Crowded  Ways  of  Life,”  “Speed 
Away,”  etc* 

(5)  The  words  and  music  ought  always  to  tell  the  same 
story,  and  both  should  be  selected  with  the  needs 
and  interests  of  young  people  in  mind. 

2.  Scripture: 

(1)  Rausch enbusch  says:  “Only  that  much  of  the  Bible 
is  yours  that  has  become  so  through  experience.” 

(a)  If  this  is  true,  and  it  is,  then  passages  of  Scrip¬ 
ture  that  are  far  beyond  a  possible  life  experi¬ 
ence  for  young  people  should  be  omitted  in 
selecting  Biblical  material  for  devotional  use. 

(b)  Study  the  Psalms,  the  Prophets,  the  Gospels, 
the  Epistles  from  this  point  of  view. 

(2)  Always  relate  the  Scripture  portion  to  be  used  to 
the  central  theme  of  worship. 

3.  Prayers: 

(1)  Prayers  that  are  made  for  and  by  adolescents 
should  be  for  specific  things  and  persons.  They 
should  be: 

(a)  Definite,  for  things  and  persons. 

(b)  Brief — two  or  three  shorter  prayers  by  two  or 
three  different  people  are  better  than  one 
longer  one. 

(2)  Suggest  themes  for  intercessory  prayer. 

(3)  Encourage  young  people  to  make  and  keep  prayer 
lists  of: 

(a)  Needs  (individual). 

(b)  Needs  of  their  homes,  school,  friends,  etc. 

(c)  Needs  of  their  church  and  community. 

197 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


(d)  World  needs,  including-  the  missionaries  and 
mission  fields  of  their  communion. 

4.  Stories  and  Talks: 

(1)  Do  not  belittle  the  place  of  the  feelings  in  develop¬ 
ing  the  devotional  life  of  young  people. 

(a)  Short  stories  and  inspirational  talks  may  be 
used  in  a  very  natural  and  legitimate  way  to 
nourish  the  emotions  Godward. 

Stories  of  victory,  of  achievement,  of  sacrifice 
stir  the  heart  and  give  motive  for  decisions 
that  often  change  the  whole  current  of  a  life. 

(b)  Make  your  own  accumulation  of  short  stories 
and  inspirational  clippings  (prose  and  poetry) 
by  gleaning  from  magazines,  from  missionary 
publications,  from  church  papers,  etc. 

(c)  Correlate  around  the  central  worship  theme. 

Sources  of  Materials  in  Planning  Worship  Programs. 

“  Manual  for  Training  in  Worship,”  Hartshorn e. 

“  Stories  for  Worship  and  How  to  Follow  Up, ”  Harts- 
horne. 

“  Story  Worship  Programs  for  the  Church-school  Year,  ” 
St  o  well. 

“The  Hymnal  for  American  Youth,”  Smith. 

“Hymns  for  To-day, 5 ’  Fillmore. 

‘ 1  Stories  of  the  Hymns,  ’ 1  Eggleston. 

“Hymns  and  Tunes,”  Butterworth  and  Brown. 

“Making  Missions  Real/’  Stowell. 

“Dramatized  Bible  Stories  for  Young  People, ”  Russell. 

“The  Dramatization  of  Bible  Stories, ”  Miller. 

“Dramatized  Missionary  Stories  for  Young  People,”  Rus¬ 
sell. 

“Dramatization  in  the  Church  School,”  Miller. 

Planning  Worship  Programs. 

1.  Make  them  seasonal  in  their  appeal,  whenever  possible. 

2.  Take  a  theme  like  “Faith”  for  October;  “Grati- 

198 


GRADED  WORSHIP 


tude, ”  for  November;  ‘‘Love,  *’  for  December,  and  build 
four  graded,  correlated  worship  programs  around  each  theme, 
include  music  (hymns,  instrumental,  special),  Scripture, 
prayers  and  a  short  talk  or  story,  and  give  sources  of  ma¬ 
terial  so  that  it  may  be  evaluated. 

3.  Outline  one  special-day  worship  service,  either  Thanks¬ 
giving,  Easter  or  Christmas. 

QUESTIONS  FOE  STUDY  AND  DISCUSSION. 

1.  Define  worship,  and  give  the  avenues  through  which  it 
finds  expression. 

2.  Give  the  educational  purpose  of  worship  in  church  and 
school. 

3.  Give  three  reasons  for  graded  worship  programs  for 
young  people. 

4.  Give  the  four  principles  that  should  guide  in  building 
worship  programs  for  young  people. 

5.  Name  the  four  parts  of  nearly  every  well-balanced  wor¬ 
ship  service  and  discuss  each  element  briefly. 

6.  Select  a  theme  of  worship  and  outline  a  worship  pro¬ 
gram  around  the  theme  for  one  of  the  following  groups — 
Intermediate,  Seniors,  Young  People — and  give  the  sources  of 
materials  used  so  that  they  may  be  evaluated. 

7.  Name  at  least  five  books  that  will  be  of  help  to  young 
people  in  building  worship  programs. 


199 


VIII 

GRADED  INSTRUCTION 


EDUCATION,  as  defined  by  President  Butler, 
of  Columbia  University,  means  a  gradual  ad¬ 
justment  to  the  spiritual  possessions  of  the  race. 
Those  possessions  may  be  variously  classified,  but 
they  certainly  are  at  least  fivefold.  The  child  is 
entitled  to  his  scientific  inheritance,  to  his  literary 
inheritance,  to  his  aesthetic  inheritance,  to  his 
institutional  inheritance  and  to  his  religious  in¬ 
heritance.  Without  them  he  can  not  become  a 
truly  educated  or  cultivated  man.1 

Our  public-school  system  as  at  present  organ¬ 
ized,  from  the  kindergarten  through  college,  makes 
it  possible  for  the  pupil  to  come  into  gradual 
possession  of  four-fifths  of  this  fivefold  inheritance. 
The  task  of  the  church  is  to  put  the  child  into 
possession  of  his  religious  inheritance,  without 
which  he  must  be  forever  hopelessly  crippled  and 
incomplete.  For  education  which  fails  to  provide 
for  that  part  of  human  life  which  is  noblest  and 
highest,  which  refuses  to  recognize  the  universal 
aspiration  and  longing  of  humanity  after  good- 

1  The  Meaning  of  Education  (p.  17). 

200 


GRADED  INSTRUCTION 


ness  and  beauty,  after  truth,  perfection  and  God, 
can  never  be  regarded  as  complete  education  for 
mankind.  Religious  education  is  essential,  not  only 
because  it  makes  it  possible  for  us  to  come  into 
our  spiritual  inheritance,  but  because  it  develops 
in  us  that  passion  for  service  which  is  so  necessary 
to  a  complete  life  incarnating  the  Spirit  of  God. 

The  work  of  religious  education  can  not  be 
undertaken  by  the  public  schools,  for  it  has  been 
decided  by  the  highest  courts  in  several  States 
that  the  present  laws  of  our  land  do  not  admit  of 
such  instruction  being  given  there.  The  church, 
through  its  church  school,  organized  and  conducted 
in  accordance  with  sound  educational  principles, 
seems  to  be  the  natural  agency  by  which  the  re¬ 
ligious  inheritance  of  the  race  is  to  be  realized. 

The  accomplishment  of  so  important  a  task 
demands  not  only  a  fully  organized,  carefully 
graded  and  thoroughly  equipped  church  school,  but 
regular  courses  of  graded  instruction  selected  from 
the  viewpoint  of  the  life  needs  of  pupils  and  em¬ 
ploying  sound  pedagogical  methods  of  teaching. 
Such  instruction  for  young  people  (12-24  years) 
must  necessarily  include  Biblical,  extra-Biblical 
(missions,  church  history,  temperance,  etc.)  and 
training  courses. 

Teachers  of  adolescents  will  find  in  the  Inter¬ 
national  graded  lessons,  with  elective  courses  for 
young  people,  perhaps  the  best  available  graded- 

lesson  material.  These  lessons  are  selected  by  the 

201 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


International  Lesson  Committee  with  the  life  needs 
of  pupils  in  mind.  They  are  'permanent  (five  years 
hence  pupils  of  a  given  age  will  take  exactly  the 
same  lesson  that  pupils  of  that  age  are  taking 
now)  ;  they  are  comprehensive  in  that  they  cover 
the  whole  field  of  Christian  education  (Biblical, 
missionary,  church  history,  temperance,  etc.)  ;  and 
they  are  Biblical  because  they  present  the  outside 
as  well  as  the  inside  of  the  Bible. 

But  the  fact  that  we  have  in  the  International 
graded  and  elective  lessons  the  finest  and  most 
complete  course  of  study  that  the  church’s  school 
has  yet  had,  does  not  mean  that  teachers  are  to 
be  relieved  of  study,  or  that  they  do  not  need  to 
know  their  pupils,  lesson  material,  and  the  best 
methods  of  teaching.  It  is  true  that  graded  les¬ 
sons  are  easier  to  teach  than  uniform,  because 
much  of  the  work  that  must  be  done  by  teachers 
in  getting  ready  to  teach  uniform  lessons  has 
already  been  done  by  the  International  Lesson 
Committee  in  the  selection  of  material  adapted  to 
the  needs  and  capacities  of  pupils.  There  are, 
however,  certain  things  that  must  be  thought 
through  by  every  teacher  who  would  teach  suc¬ 
cessfully  any  lessons,  whether  uniform  or  graded. 

First  of  all,  the  Bible  is  an  Oriental  book, 
written  in  the  long  ago,  and  using  phraseology 
that  is  often  a  barrier  to  young  people  who  think 
and  talk  in  the  language  of  to-day.  This  means 
that  teachers  must  know  not  only  the  Bible,  but 

202 


GRADED  INSTRUCTION 


something  of  the  manners  and  customs  of  Oriental 
times  and  people ;  and  that,  in  the  study  and 
preparation  of  lessons,  the  American  Revised, 
rather  than  the  King  James,  version  is  always  to 
be  preferred,  because  its  language  is  more  nearly 
the  vernacular  of  our  times.  In  teaching  New 
Testament  portions,  teachers  will  find  Moffatt’s 
translation  of  the  New  Testament;  “The  New 
Testament  in  Modern  Speech,  ”  by  Weymouth,  and 
the  “Twentieth  Century  New  Testament”  delight¬ 
fully  illuminating. 

Then,  too,  the  Bible  deals  with  remote  periods 
of  time.  Boys  and  girls  are  living  intensely  in  the 
present.  If  you,  as  teacher,  fail  to  relate  this  Book 
of  Life  to  the  present-day  needs  and  interests  of 
your  pupils,  it  can  not  become  “a  lamp  unto  their 
feet  and  a  light  unto  their  pathway.”  The  Bible 
is  largely  a  book  of  history  (the  history  of  people 
who  lived  in  the  long  ago).  If  you  teach  it  as  a 
cold  and  lifeless  thing,  with  a  few  facts  hung  here 
and  there  upon  date  pegs,  it  will  be,  perhaps 
forever,  a  closed  book,  uninteresting  to  boys  and  » 

girls.  But  if  you  make  it  a  biographical  study  of 
living  people,  facing  the  real  problems  of  life, 
overcoming,  and  sometimes  being  overcome,  or  a 
discussional  study  of  great  principles  of  life,  you 
can  make  it  a  Book  to  live  hy,  and  hy  which  to  do 
one’s  daily  work. 

The  Bible  is  not  of  vital  interest  to  the  average 
teen-age  boy  or  girl,  because  unaided  they  are 

203 


PLAN  XLVII. — First  Floor* 

This  plan  makes  adequate  provision  for  schools  numbering  one 
thousand  or  more. 


*  P.  E,  Burroughs,  Church  and  Sunday  School  Buildings  (p.  134) 

204 


•  •  •  • 

PLAN  XLVII. — Second  Floor* 


Frank  L.  Smith,  Architect,  Lexington,  Kentucky 
*  P.  E.  Burroughs,  Church  and  Sunday  School  Buildings  (p.  135). 

205 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


unable  to  discover  the  point  of  contact  between  its 
messages  and  the  problems  of  their  every-day  life. 
The  task  of  the  Sunday-school  teacher  is  to  find 
where  the  great  principles  of  life  expressed  in  the 
Book  of  books  touch  the  problems  of  young  people 
in  their  present-day  form.  This  means  that  teach¬ 
ers  must  know  boys  and  girls,  know  them  intimately 
enough  to  find  points  of  contact  between  lesson 
material  and  the  life  situations  and  experiences  of 
their  pupils.  Mere  acquaintance  with  boys  and 
girls,  a  general  knowledge  of  life  periods,  an  occa¬ 
sional  contact  with  their  intimate  personal  prob¬ 
lems,  is  not  sufficient  to  enable  teachers  to  intelli¬ 
gently  select  or  vitally  relate  lesson  truths  to  the 
needs  and  interests  of  individual  pupils. 

Teachers  must  not  only  be  able  to  find  points 
of  contact  between  the  Book  and  the  pupil;  but 
they,  themselves,  must  be  intensely  interested  in, 
and  their  own  lives  passionately  aflame  with,  its 
burning  messages  for  all  times  and  all  lives. 
Eugene  C.  Foster  says:  4 ‘The  Bible  must  have  a 
tremendous  grip  upon  the  teacher  who  would 
make  it  grip  others.  If  it  is  a  colorless  book  to 
him,  with  a  lifeless  message;  if  it  is  a  Book  of 
questions  to  him,  with  a  doubtful  message ;  if  it  is 
a  closed  Book  to  him,  with  no  message  at  all — 
there  is  little  hope  that  he  will  be  able  to  vitalize 
it  in  the  lives  of  others.  ’  ’ 1  Then,  too,  teachers 

1  Problems  of  Intermediate  and  Senior  Teachers  (p.  10). 


206 


GRADED  INSTRUCTION 


must  get  the  message  and  the  pupil  together,  even 
at  a  very  great  cost  in  time  and  labor  on  their 
part.  Inadequate  preparation,  the  mauling  over  a 
few  lesson  comments,  time-worn  illustrations,  shal¬ 
low  or  far-fetched  interpretations — these  have  no 
freshness,  no  vitality,  no  reality,  no  character-mak¬ 
ing  power  in  the  lives  of  young  people.  Every 
teacher’s  library  should  contain  a  few  well-chosen 
books — a  good  reference  Bible  (the  American  Re¬ 
vised  Version),  an  atlas  or  set  of  maps,  a  Bible  dic¬ 
tionary,  some  good  commentaries,  and  as  many 
teachers’  helps  and  periodicals  as  one  can  possibly 
afford.  The  bibliography  at  the  close  of  the  chap¬ 
ter  is  suggestive. 

In  the  development  of  lessons,  the  method  of 
presentation  must  vary  from  week  to  week.  Same¬ 
ness  in  teaching,  the  lack  of  freshness  and  variety, 
the  dullness  of  routine — all  these  things  tend  to 
kill  vital  interest  in  the  teaching  period.  The  lec¬ 
ture  method  should  be  used  sparingly,  if  at  all, 
in  the  Intermediate,  Senior  and  Young  People’s 
departments,  because  it  is  un-co-operative.  The 
teacher  talks,  and  the  pupils  sit.  There  is  a  teacher, 
but  no  teaching.  There  are  pupils,  but  no  learn¬ 
ing.  Unless  there  is  that  in  the  lecture  that 
awakens  an  active  response  on  the  part  of  pupils, 
it  fails  as  a  teaching  method,  no  matter  how  well 
the  teacher  may  talk.  Real  teachers  will  strive  to 
become  leaders  of  discussional  groups,  rather  than 
authoritative  dispensers  of  information. 

207 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


Finally,  the  teacher  must  afford  opportunity  for 
expression  in  connection  with  the  teaching  proc¬ 
ess.  Lessons  presented  with  no  avenue  for  ex¬ 
pression,  truths  talked  about  with  no  application 
of  life  situations  and  experiences,  emotions  stirred 
with  no  outlet  in  action — these  things  defeat  en¬ 
tirely  the  educative  process. 

Lesson-building.1 

Successful  teachers  have,  as  a  rule,  a  definite 
and  yet  modifiable  plan  of  building  lessons.  No 
one  method  of  teaching  will  fit  alike  all  pupils,  all 
materials  and  all  occasions,  but  this  does  not  in¬ 
dicate  that  there  should  not  be  for  every  lesson  a 
clearly  defined  and  well-thought-through  plan  of 
development. 

The  first  step  in  the  process  of  lesson-building 
is  to  begin  the  preparation  of  the  lesson  by  fresh 
study.  No  matter  how  many  times  you  may  have 
taught  that  lesson,  you  can  not  depend  upon 
warmed-over  impressions  from  other  years  to  make 
vital  any  lesson  in  the  lives  of  boys  and  girls. 
Begin  your  study  in  plenty  of  time — a  week  or 
ten  days  in  advance  of  the  time  you  are  to  teach 
it.  When  the  lesson  is  one  of  a  series,  it  is  well  to 
plan  the  development  of  the  series  as  a  unit,  which 
may  mean  that  the  general  plan  for  weeks  in 
advance  has  been  determined  upon. 

1  Reprinted  with  the  permission  of  the  Department  of  Religious 
Education  of  the  United  Christian  Missionary  Society. 

208 


GRADED  INSTRUCTION 


In  studying  Biblical  portions,  read  the  lesson 
material  in  your  own  Bible  first,  not  in  the  quarter¬ 
ly  or  handbook ;  and  as  you  read,  picture  the  story. 
Suppose  you  are  to  teach  the  lesson,  “Jesus 
Betrayed,  Denied  and  Condemned 7  ’ — it  comes  in 
the  International  Graded  Series  for  fifteen-year- 
old  pupils.  Before  you  can  make  any  boy  or  girl 
see  Christ  as  He  stood  there  before  the  high  priest, 
you  must  see  Christ;  you  must  see  the  high  priest; 
you  must  see  His  accusers;  you  must  see  that  dis¬ 
ciple  in  the  outer  court,  who  had  said,  “Though 
all  men  betray  thee,  yet  will  I  not.”  With  the  aid 
of  your  imagination  you  must  see  all  these  so 
clearly  that  unconsciously,  without  knowing  it,  you 
protrude  the  scene  out  before  you  in  a  teaching 
period,  so  that  boys  and  girls  see,  not  you,  but 
the  characters  you  want  them  to  see.  This  may 
mean,  it  often  does  mean,  that  teachers  have  to 
drop  their  Bible  and  take  up  an  atlas  or  set  of 
maps  and  look  up  something  in  regard  to  the  geog¬ 
raphy  of  the  lesson.  It  may  mean  that  you  will 
have  to  read  up  on  the  manners  and  customs  of 
the  times;  but  wise  teachers  never  leave  the  study 
of  the  Biblical  portion  itself,  with  whatever  refer¬ 
ence  reading  they  may  need  to  do,  until  the  whole 
scene  passes  before  their  inward  eyes  like  a  drama. 
When  you  have  that  kind  of  a  mental  picture 
about  what  went  on  in  that  lesson,  you  will  have 
what  teachers  call  dramatic  atmosphere  in  teaching. 

Do  you  want  to  know  how  to  get  it?  Acquire  the 
14  209 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


habit  of  reading  portions  of  your  Bible  and  then, 
closing  your  eyes,  visualize  the  scene. 

Later  you  may  read  the  comments  and  sugges¬ 
tions  given  in  the  “Teachers’  Quarterly”  and  the 
“Pupils’  Handbook.”  Never  feel  compelled,  how¬ 
ever,  to  use  the  method  of  development  suggested 
in  the  teachers’  and  pupils’  helps.  If  you  find  the 
method  suggested  there  an  armor  in  which  you 
can  fight,  put  it  on,*  but  if  it  handicaps  you,  lay  it 
aside  and  build  your  own  lesson. 

The  next  step,  after  you  have  mastered  the  les¬ 
son  material,  is  to  think  the  lesson  through  from 
the  viewpoint  of  your  pupils.  Ask  yourself  the 
question,  What  is  there  in  this  lesson  material  that 
will  meet  the  life  needs  and  life  situations  of  my 
pupils?  With  the  needs  of  your  pupils  and  the 
lesson  material  in  mind,  select  the  central  thought, 
idea  or  truth  that  will  be  most  helpful  to  the  life 
problems  of  your  class.  As  a  rule,  there  will  be 
only  one  central  truth  around  which  the  focus  of 
emphasis  centers  for  each  lesson.  When  this  cen¬ 
tral  thought  has  been  determined,  then  organize  the 
facts  of  the  lesson  around  the  central  truth.  In 
developing  the  material,  the  lesson  should  grow 
with  cumulative  interest  toward  this  central 
thought. 

The  next  step  in  the  process  of  lesson-building 
is  to  find  the  point  of  common  interest  between  the 
lesson  material  and  the  life  problems  of  your 

pupils.  Whether  you  call  this  point  of  common 

210 


GRADED  INSTRUCTION 


interest  your  4 ‘point  of  contact”  or  your  “atten¬ 
tion  getter”  is  not  so  important  as  that  you  know 
what  you  are  going  to  use  (question,  story,  picture, 
map,  blackboard  sketch,  etc.)  and  how  you  are  go¬ 
ing  to  use  it  to  arrest  attention  and  to  approach 
and  relate  the  lesson  material  to  the  present-day 
interests  and  situations  of  your  pupils.  But  there 
are  teachers  who  would  not  know  a  point  of  com¬ 
mon  interest  from  a  point  of  departure,  and  there 
is  a  vast  deal  of  difference  between  the  two.  You 
can  tell  any  kind  of  a  sensational  story  to  teen-age 
boys  and  girls  and  get  their  attention.  You  may 
make  it  wholly  impossible  to  do  the  kind  of  teach¬ 
ing  you  want  to  do  that  day.  You  can  not  use  just 
anything  and  everything  as  a  point  of  contact. 
A  good  point  of  contact  usually  has  two  charac¬ 
teristics:  (1)  It  must  be  in  line  with  the  life  in¬ 
terests  of  pupils;  (2)  and  it  must  arouse  interest 
in  the  direction  of  the  lesson  material  to  be  used 
in  the  development  of  the  lesson  truth. 

In  planning  the  approach  to  the  lesson  it  is 
usually  best  to  call  out  what  your  pupils  already 
know  in  regard  to  the  lesson,  and  not  to  contribute 
it  yourself.  It  is  also  well  to  recall  any  important 
facts  that  have  been  presented  in  preceding  lessons 
which  are  related  to  the  new  material.  Assign¬ 
ments  having  to  do  with  the  geographical  or  his¬ 
torical  background  may  often  be  used  in  a 
splendid  way  in  approaching  the  material  to  be 
developed. 


211 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


The  next  step  that  must  be  thought  through  in 
advance  is  the  determining  of  the  method  to  be 
used  in  the  development  of  lesson  material.  If 
the  lesson  is  to  be  developed  in  the  form  of  an 
elaborated  story  or  narrative,  with  reports  or 
assignments  that  have  been  previously  made,  then 
the  way  in  which  assignments  are  to  be  called  out 
and  related  to  the  development  of  the  story  must 
be  planned  with  care. 

If  the  lesson  is  to  take  the  form  of  a  discussion, 
then  the  leading  thought  questions  which  are  to 
guide  the  discussion  should  be  written  out.  If  you 
are  planning  to  develop  the  lesson  in  the  form  of 
an  outline,  with  perhaps  an  occasional  assignment 
on  some  point  of  emphasis,  your  outline  will  need 
to  be  prepared  a  week  or  ten  days  in  advance,  so 
that  assignments  may  be  made  sufficiently  early 
to  make  it  possible  for  pupils  to  co-operate. 

If  the  lesson  is  to  take  the  form  of  a  recita¬ 
tion,  the  steps  in  the  development  must  be  arranged 
for  and  topical  assignments  carefully  made  in 
advance.  Success  in  the  use  of  this  method  makes 
it  necessary  for  teachers  to  look  up  all  assignments 
and  to  be  prepared  to  contribute  any  that  are 
lacking  because  of  absence  or  unpreparedness  on 
the  part  of  pupils. 

Perhaps  you  are  planning  to  set  your  pupils  to 
a  first-hand  study  of  the  facts  of  human  experience 
as  they  have  come  down  to  us  through  the  ages, 
and  then  to  let  them  draw  their  own  conclusions. 

212 


GRADED  INSTRUCTION 


If  so,  the  way  in  which  you  are  to  guide  and  direct 
the  experimentation  of  the  group  must  be  clear 
in  the  mind  of  the  teacher,  and  usually  there  will 
be  in  every  teaching  period  a  high  point  of  interest 
toward  which  the  lesson  (discussional,  outline, 
elaborated  story,  recitation,  etc.)  grows  and  glows 
with  cumulative  interest. 

The  next  step  in  the  process  of  lesson-building 
is  the  application.  You  have  taught  an  abstract 
truth,  or  the  message  of  the  life  of  some  great 
character  that  lived  centuries  ago.  Before  that 
abstract  truth,  or  the  message  of  the  life  of  that 
great  character,  can  have  any  real  value  in  our 
times,  it  must  be  brought  down  and  related  to 
present-day  conditions  and  problems.  If  you  fail 
to  do  this,  you  fail  to  make  vital  the  teaching  proc¬ 
ess.  But  you  may  ask,  How  can  lessons  be  vital¬ 
ized  through  application  to  present-day  problems? 
By  the  use  of  questions,  analogy  and  illustrations. 
Show  how  the  missionaries  of  the  cross  in  modern 
times  have  set  the  great  life-giving  principles  of 
the  word  of  God  at  work  in  their  own  lives.  Now 
and  then  ask  a  question  that  does  not  require  an 
oral  or  written  answer,  but  that  does  require  an 
answer  at  the  doors  of  the  conscience.  Occasional¬ 
ly  use  Scripture'  to  confirm  the  common  human 
experiences  of  our  every-day  life. 

Teachers  will  be  helped  wonderfully  in  the 
teaching  process  by  making  their  own  collection 
of  illustrations.  It  is  better,  as  a  rule,  to  make 

213 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


the  collection  in  a  loose-leaf  book  so  that  the  illus¬ 
trations  may  be  arranged  in  an  orderly  way  around 
lesson  material.  Glean  from  newspapers,  maga¬ 
zines,  missionary  publications,  reference  books, 
etc. — prose,  poetry,  anything  and  everything  that 
will  help  you  to  establish  continually  points  of 
common  interest  and  to  make  the  abstract  con¬ 
crete  through  a  generous  use  of  illustrative 
material. 

The  last  step  in  the  process  of  lesson-building 
is  expression .  Inasmuch  as  no  lesson  is  ever  really 
taught  until  in  some  way  it  becomes  a  part  of 
human  experience,  set  your  pupils  at  work  from 
week  to  week,  testing  their  grip  on  the  truths  pre¬ 
sented.  Plan  in  advance  the  ways  in  which  you 
are  going  to  set  lessons  at  work  in  the  life  of 
boys  and  girls,  remembering  that  no  one  ever  real¬ 
ly  knows  a  truth,  however  often  or  interestingly  he 
hears  it  presented,  until  in  some  way  he  expresses 
that  truth  himself.  The  following  chapter  will 
suggest  some  ways  in  which  lessons  may  find  ex¬ 
pression  in  life. 

Securing  Home  Study.1 

Whether  or  not  you  succeed  as  a  teacher  in 
getting  home  study  on  the  part  of  pupils  depends 
upon  how  much  interest  you  have  in  the  subject 
you  are  teaching,  and  how  successfully  you  can  im- 

1  Reprinted  with  the  permission  of  the  Department  of  Religious 
Education  of  the  United  Christian  Missionary  Society. 

214 


GRADED  INSTRUCTION 


part  that  interest  to  boys  and  girls.  No  teacher 
ought  to  he  discouraged,  because  interest  may  be 
cultivated.  Growth  in  knowledge  usually  means 
growth  in  interest.  Then,  too,  we  need  to  remem¬ 
ber  that  interest  is  one  of  the  most  easily  com¬ 
municated  of  all  the  emotions  when  it  is  genuine. 
You  can  not  feign  it.  If  you  have  it,  your  pupils 
will  know  it;  and  if  you  do  not  possess  it,  they 
will  feel  it. 

But,  in  addition  to  your  own  interest  in  the  sub¬ 
ject,  there  are  certain  things  that  will  aid  you  in 
securing  home  study  on  the  part  of  young  people. 
In  the  first  place,  be  very  clear  in  your  own  mind 
as  to  what  you  want  to  teach,  and  then  reduce  it 
to  its  simplest  terms.  In  making  assignments, 
deal  with  the  essentials  rather  than  non-essentials. 
When  you  make  an  assignment  be  sure  that  it  is 
within  the  capacity  of  the  pupil  to  respond.  In¬ 
dividualize,  never  generalize,  in  making  assign¬ 
ments.  Keep  a  careful  record  of  all  the  assign¬ 
ments  made,  and  then  plan  the  way  you  are  going 
to  call  them  out  and  use  them  to  further  the 
development  of  the  lesson. 

Success  in  getting  home  study  on  the  part  of 
pupils  depends  largely  on  the  work  done  by  the 
teacher,  (1)  in  making  assignments  in  a  definite 
and  specific  way;  (2)  in  arousing  the  curiosity  of 
the  pupil  by  the  manner  in  which  the  assignment 
is  made;  (3)  in  suiting  the  character  of  the  assign¬ 
ment  to  the  interest  and  capacity  of  the  pupils; 

215 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


(4)  in  following  up  assignments  by  postal  card, 
letter  or  telephone  call,  thus  calling  the  attention 
of  the  pupil  to  the  contribution  expected;  (5) 
and  in  using  the  reports  on  assignments  in  such 
a  way  that  the  pupil  is  made  to  feel  that  he  has 
made  a  vital  contribution  to  the  lesson  develop¬ 
ment. 

Tools  that  Are  Helpful. 

Some  one  has  said  that  “books  are  tools;  that 
every  workman  must  have  some  tools,  and  that 
with  poor  tools  he  can  not  do  his  best  work.” 
How  true  this  is  of  Sunday-school  teachers.  Those 
who  have  the  best  tools  and  use  them  intelligently 
and  continually  do  the  best  work.  The  following 
list  of  books  will  help  teachers  of  adolescents  to 
do  increasingly  better  work  from  year  to  year. 

On  the  Bible. 

“  Bible  Dictionary,  ’ ’  Hastings  or  Davis. 

“The  One-volume  Commentary, * ’  Dummelow. 

“Old  Testament  Characters, 1  ’  Geikie. 

“ Representative  Men  of  the  Bible,”  Matheson  (two  vol¬ 
umes)  . 

“Representative  Women  of  the  Bible,”  Matheson  (one 
volume). 

“Life  of  Paul,”  Farrar  or  Stalker. 

“Hours  with  the  Bible,”  Geikie. 

“Studies  of  the  Books  of  the  Bible,”  Stevenson. 

“Our  Sixty-six  Sacred  Books;  or,  How  We  Got  Our 
Bible,”  Rice. 


216 


GRADED  INSTRUCTION 


On  the  Life  of  Christ. 

“Life  of  Christ,”  Farrar  or  Stalker. 

“Life  and  Times  of  the  Messiah,”  Edersheim. 

“The  Story  of  Jesus  Christ,”  Phelps. 

“Jesus,  the  Carpenter  of  Nazareth,”  Bird. 

“The  Hero  of  Heroes,”  Horton. 

“Jesus’  Ideals  of  Living,”  Fiske. 

“The  Social  Principles  of  Jesus,”  Rauschenbusch. 

“The  Character  Christ,  Fact  or  Fiction,”  Lhamon. 
“The  Manhood  of  the  Master,”  Fosdick. 

Bible  Lands  and  People. 

“Historical  Geography  in  Bible  Lands,”  Calkins. 

“In  the  Master’s  Country,”  Tarbell. 

“On  Holy  Ground,”  Worcester. 

“Orientalisms  in  Bible  Lands,”  Rice. 

Teaching  Methods. 

“How  to  Plan  a  Lesson,”  Brown. 

“The  Point  of  Contact  in  Teaching,”  DuBois. 

“Jesus  the  Master  Teacher,”  Horne. 

“Learning  to  Teach  from  the  Master  Teacher.”  Mar¬ 
quis. 

“Picture  Work,”  Hervey. 

“The  Use  of  the  Story  in  Religious  Education,”  Eggle¬ 
ston. 

“Handwork  in  the  Sunday  School,”  Littlefield. 
“Handwork  in  Religious  Education,”  Wardle. 

“How  to  Teach  Religion,”  Betts. 

“The  Standard  Teacher-training  Course”  (twelve  units 
of  ten  lessons  each,  eight  generalization  subjects,  four  spe¬ 
cialization  subjects). 


217 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


TEACHING  OUTLINE 

Religious  Education  the  Work  of  the  Church. 

1.  The  church’s  school  is  the  natural  agency  by  which  and 
through  which  the  religious  inheritance  of  the  race  is  to  be 
perpetuated. 

(.1)  Has  been  decided  by  highest  court  in  several  States 
that  present  laws  do  not  admit  of  the  teaching  of 
the  Bible  in  the  public  schools. 

2.  Accomplishment  of  so  important  a  task  demands  a 
fully  organized,  equipped  church  school,  with  graded  pupils, 
graded  teachers  and  graded  curriculum. 

Available  Graded  Lesson  Courses. 

1.  Several  available: 

(1)  University  of  Chicago’s  graded  course. 

(2)  Scribner’s  series  of  Graded  Lessons. 

(3)  Keystone  series. 

(4)  International  Graded  Lesson  series. 

2.  International  Graded  series  conceded  by  authorities  to 
be  perhaps  the  best  in  the  largest  number  of  particulars. 
This  course  is: 

(1)  Permanent. 

(2)  Comprehensive  (includes  missions,  nature  lessons, 
church  history,  etc.), 

(3)  Biblical. 

(4)  Evangelistic. 

3.  Makes  possible  the  use  of  elective  courses  from  the  sev¬ 
enteenth  year  on. 

(1)  Senior  Graded  Lessons  (17-20  years)  consist  of 
four  one-year  electives  that  may  be  taken  in  any 
order. 

Teacher’s  Work  in  Preparing  the  Lesson. 

1.  Fact  that  lessons  are  graded  does  not  relieve  teachers  of 

(1)  Necessity  for  study. 

(2)  Necessity  of  knowing  one’s  pupils. 

218 


GRADED  INSTRUCTION 


(3)  Necessity  of  knowing  and  using  best  methods  of 
teaching. 

2.  Graded  lessons  are  easier  to  teach  than  Uniform,  be¬ 
cause  they  are: 

(1)  Graded. 

(2)  Adapted. 

3.  Kinds  of  preparation  teachers  must  make: 

(1)  Knowledge  of  manners  and  customs  of  Oriental 
times : 

(a)  Bible  an  Oriental  book,  using  words  and  phrases 
that  are  often  a  barrier  to  young  people  of 
to-day. 

(b)  Books  that  will  help: 

“Life  and  Times  of  Messiah, ’ ’  Edersheim. 

“In  the  Master’s  Country,”  Tarbell. 

1 1  Orientalisms  in  Bible  Lands,”  Rice. 

(2)  Bible  deals  with  remote  periods  of  time,  neces¬ 
sitating  the  relating  of  Bible  to  present-day  prob¬ 
lems  and  experiences: 

(a)  Read  the  more  recent  modern  translations: 
“The  New  Testament,”  Moffatt’s  translation. 
“The  New  Testament  in  Modern  Speech, ’ * 
Weymouth. 

“Twentieth  Century  New  Testament.” 

(b)  Bible  a  book  of  history — religious  history  of 
a  people  who  lived  long  ago.  You  must  make 
it  a  study  of  “life  principles”  of  real  people 
facing  real  problems,  else  it  will  not  become 
to  boys  and  girls  a  book  to  live  by  and  by 
which  to  do  one’s  daily  work. 

(a)  Teacher  must  have  a  grip  on  the  Book  if  you 
may  relate  the  Book  of  books  to  the  problems 
young  people  face  to-day. 

(a)  Teacher  must  have  a  .grip  on  the  Book  if  you 
expect  it  to  have  a  grip  on  pupils. 

219 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


(b)  If  the  Bible  is  a  colorless  book  to  you,  it  will 
doubtless  remain  a  closed  book  to  them. 

(4)  Method  used  in  developing  lessons  from  week  to 
week  must  vary. 

(a)  Sameness,  lack  of  variety,  dullness  of  routine — 
these  tend  to  kill  vital  interest,  without  which 
learning  is  impossible. 

-  ,  Lesson-building. 

1.  All  successful  teachers  have  a  definite,  yet  modi¬ 
fiable,  plan  of  building  lessons: 

(1)  Steps  in  the  lesson-building  project: 

(a)  Prepare  each  lesson  by  fresh  study. 

Begin  in  plenty  of  time. 

Bead  lesson  material  in  Bible  first. 

As  you  read,  'picture  the  story. 

Bead  suggestions  given  in  quarterly  and  hand¬ 
book. 

Bead  other  reference-books  on  manners,  cus¬ 
toms,  geography,  etc. 

(b)  Think  the  lesson  through  from  viewpoint  of 
your  pupils:  What  is  there  in  the  lesson  mate¬ 
rial  that  will  meet  their  life  needs  and  situa¬ 
tions? 

(c)  With  needs  of  pupil  and  lesson  material  in 
mind,  select  the  lesson  truth  (principle  of  life) 
that  will  be  most  helpful  to  your  pupils. 

As  a  rule  only  one  principle  of  life  for  each 
lesson. 

(d)  Organize  the  facts  of  the  lesson  around  this 
central  truth  or  principle  of  life. 

The  facts  are  the  body  of  which  the  lesson 
truth  is  the  soul. 

(2)  The  details  of  lesson  planned: 

220 


GRADED  INSTRUCTION 


(a)  Plan  your  point  of  contact  or  attention  getter. 
What  you  are  going  to  use,  say  or  do,  focus 
the  attention  of  the  class. 

Good  point  of  contact  usually  has  two  charac¬ 
teristics  : 

Should  arouse  interest  in  direction  of  lesson 
truth. 

Should  have  element  of  familiarity,  nearness, 
localness. 

(b)  Plan  your  approach: 

How  you  are  going  to  go  from  first  interest 
and  attention  to  body  of  Biblical  material  to 
be  brought  before  class. 

Call  out  known  facts. 

Call  for  assignments  that  have  to  do  with  geo¬ 
graphical  or  historical  background. 

Bring  out  important  facts  already  acquired 
that  are  related  to  new  ideas  and  ideals  to 
be  developed. 

(c)  Determine  in  advance  your  method  of  lesson  de¬ 
velopment. 

Story,  question,  topical,  outline,  lecture,  proj¬ 
ect. 

Outline  your  story. 

Write  out  your  questions  in  advance. 

Work  out  an  outline. 

Make  careful  advance  assignments. 

Plan  projects  in  advance. 

(d)  Plan  your  application: 

What  you  are  going  to  do  to  relate  truth  of  the 
lesson  to  life  of  your  pupils. 

(e)  Plan  your  expression: 

What  you  are  going  to  suggest  that  pupils  do 
to  restate  the  lesson  in  terms  of  their  own  life. 
Plan  ways  in  which  to  set  the  lesson  at  work 
in  every-day  life  of  pupil. 

221 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


How  to  Secure  Home  Study. 

1.  Whether  or  not  you  get  home  study  will  depend  upon 
how  much  interest  and  enthusiasm  you  can  arouse  on  the  part 
of  your  pupils. 

2.  Following  suggestions  will  help: 

(1)  Make  your  assignments  in  an  interesting  way. 

(a)  Whet  appetite  of  pupil  to  know  what  answer  is 

by  manner  in  which  you  make  assignment. 

(2)  Suit  the  assignment  to  the  interest  and  capacity 
of  your  pupil. 

(3)  Be  definite  and  specific  in  making  assignments. 

(4)  Follow  up  assignments  by  postal  card,  telephone 
or  letters. 

(5)  Look  up  every  assignment  you  make. 

(6)  Commend  and  use  the  contributions  of  pupils  in 
developing  the  lesson  contents. 

Tools  in  Teaching. 

1.  Books  are  tools — every  teacher  must  have  some  tools. 
With  poor  tools  you  can  not  do  your  best  work. 

(1)  Select  your  teacher’s  library  carefully,  and  with 
the  idea  of  growing  one  that  will  be  permanently 
useful. 

(2)  Teacher’s  library  should  include: 

(a)  Bible-study  books. 

(b)  A  good  commentary. 

(c)  Books  on  manners  and  customs. 

(d)  Atlas  and  set  of  maps. 

(e)  Books  on  methods  of  teaching  and  lesson  ex¬ 
pression. 

QUESTIONS  FOB  STUDY  AND  DISCUSSION. 

1.  Why  do  you  think  the  International  Graded  Lessons 
are  the  best  graded  series ? 

2.  Name  the  essential  steps  in  lesson-building. 

222 


GRADED  INSTRUCTION 


3.  Name  the  five  parts  of  the  lesson  that  should  be 
planned  in  advance. 

4.  Select  one  of  the  following  lessons  and  outline  in  de¬ 
tail  your  method  of  lesson  development: 

(1)  Intermediate  (second  year,  Lesson  XXX.),  “Heze- 
kiah,  the  King  Who  Trusted  Jehovah.  ”  Biblical 
material,  2  Kings  18-20;  2  Chronicles  29-32; 
Isaiah  36-38. 

(2)  Senior  (first  year,  Lesson  VI.),  <(  Jesus  Resisting 
Temptation.  ’  ’  Biblical  material,  Matt.  4:  1-11; 
Mark  1:  12;  Luke  4:  1-13;  John  1:  19-34. 

5.  Suggest  five  things  that  will  help  a  teacher  to  secure 
home  study  on  the  part  of  pupils. 

6.  Name  ten  good  books  that  you  would  like  to  have  in 
your  own  teaching  library  covering  the  following  fields: 

(1)  Bible  study. 

(2)  Commentaries. 

(3)  Manners  and  customs. 

(4)  Geography. 

(5)  Methods  of  teaching. 


223 


IX 

GRADED  EXPRESSION 


WE  have  already  noted  that  the  purpose  of 
worship  is  to  cultivate  the  feelings — it  deals 
with  the  acquisition  of  new  attitudes  of  appre¬ 
ciation  that  the  purpose  of  instruction  is  intellec¬ 
tual — it  deals  with  the  acquisition  of  new  ideas 
and  ideals;  and  that  the  purpose  of  expression  is 
motor — it  deals  with  the  acquisition  of  new  habits 
of  actions;  the  getting  of  emotional  and  intellectual 
ideas  and  ideals  over  into  human  experience  through 
self- activity.  Doctor  Littlefield  notes:  “The  aim 

of  all  true  education  is  to  put  the  individual  into 
possession  of  all  his  powers.  Inasmuch  as  activity 
is  the  fundamental  law  of  human  development, 
the  method  by  which  one  comes  into  possession  of 
his  powers  is  self-expression. 

“The  forms  of  self-activity  are  as  varied  as  the 
phases  of  life  itself;  for  the  law  of  activity  applies 
to  every  faculty  of  the  soul.  The  material  world 
in  which  we  live — the  home,  the  church,  the  school, 
the  community,  etc. — is  the  environment  in  which 
this  self -activity  finds  expression.  ’  ’ 1  The  more 

1  Handwork  in  the  Sunday  School  (p.  2). 

224 


GRADED  EXPRESSION 


perfect  the  environment  provided  by  these  factors, 
the  easier  it  is  for  life  to  express  itself  naturally, 
joyously  and  completely,  in  all  the  varied  forms  of 
its  activity.  The  task  of  the  church  in  its  educa¬ 
tional  program  is  to  provide  young  people  with 
such  a  physical,  intellectual,  social  and  religious 
environment  as  will  make  it  possible  for  them  to 
come  to  their  highest  moral  and  spiritual  develop¬ 
ment  through  constant  reaction  to  the  right  kind 
of  stimuli.  For  many  reasons  the  organized  depart¬ 
ments  and  classes  of  the  church’s  school  are  the 
natural  units  through  which  to  stimulate  and 
properly  environ  the  moral  and  spiritual  develop¬ 
ment  of  young  people. 

The  departmental  worship  services,  from  week 
to  week,  provide  opportunity  for  the  cultivation 
of  the  emotional  life.  The  education  of  the  class 
period,  if  real  teaching  is  going  on,  calls  both  the 
intellect  and  will  into  action,  the  teacher,  in  the 
method  of  lesson  presentation,  providing  the  stimuli 
and  environment  to  which  the  pupil  reacts.  Of 
necessity,  oral,  manual  and  moral  and  spiritual 
forms  of  self-expression  result.  The  pupil  expresses 
his  ideas  and  ideals ;  \Jie  must ,  for  with  him  to 
thimk  and  to  feel  is  to  act.  If  he  does  not  act,  it 
is  evident  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  environ¬ 
mental  situation  that  is  providing  the  proper 
stimuli  to  call  forth  self-expression. 

Perhaps  it  will  be  well  for  us  to  think  through 

together  some  of  the  ways  in  which  teachers  may 
16  225 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


provide  such  stimuli  for  adolescents  as  will  call 
forth  the  self-activity  of  the  pupils  during  the 
class  period.  One  of  the  best  types  of  oral  stimuli 
is  the  question.  Ask  your  questions  in  such  a  way 
that  pupils  can  not  help  but  think  and  talk  as  a 
result.  Remember  that  the  stirring  power  of  a 
question  lies  largely  in  the  principle  of  its  sMiock 
to  the  mind.  When  you  are  preparing  questions 
for  lesson  discussion,  ask  yourself  this  question : 
Is  this  wording  thought -provoking?  Will  it  force 
my  pupils  to  think  and  act  because  of  the  in¬ 
tensity  of  its  shock  ?  Then,  when  the  reactions 
come,  as  come  they  will,  if  your  questions  have 
been  wisely  chosen  and  well  worded,  be  prepared 
to  use  the  pupil’s  reactions  in  furthering  the 
development  of  the  lesson. 

Jesus  used  illustrations  (especially  the  short 
story)  so  often  as  a  stimuli  in  teaching.  Read 
Matt.  12 :  9-12,  and  note  that  when  Jesus  healed  the 
man  with  the  withered  hand  on  the  Sabbath  day, 
and  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  criticized  Him  for 
it,  He  did  not  argue  the  point  with  them.  He 
did  not  even  scold  them.  He  just  told  them  a 
perfectfully  beautiful  short  story  with  an  appeal 
to  the  feelings  and  intellect.  He  said:  “What 
man  shall  there  be  of  you,  that  shall  have  one 
sheep,  and  if  this  fall  into  a  pit  on  the  sabbath 
day,  will  he  not  lay  hold  on  it,  and  lift  it  out?” 
Then  He  just  looked  at  them  with  soul-searching 

eyes  and  added:  “How  much  then  is  a  man  of 

226 


GRADED  EXPRESSION 


more  value  than  a  sheep !  Wherefore  it  is  lawful 
to  do  good  on  the  sabbath  day.”  And  they  (His 
listeners),  reacting  to  the  story,  said:  “Surely  he 
must  have  come  from  God.” 

Debates  are  fruitful  as  a  means  of  securing 
oral  expression  in  the  development  of  lessons.  The 
author  recalls  a  class  of  Intermediate  boys  that 
challenged  a  class  of  Intermediate  girls  to  a  debate 
on  the  following  subject:  “Resolved,  That  Solomon 
was  a  greater  king  than  David.”  The  year  fol¬ 
lowing,  the  same  two  classes  used  a  forty-minute 
lesson  period  to  debate  the  question:  “Resolved, 
That  Peter  was  a  greater  apostle  them  Paul” 
The  pupils  in  both  classes  learned  more  about 
Solomon  and  David,  Peter  and  Paul  as  a  result 
of  those  two  debates  than  they  would  have  learned 
in  an  entire  year  of  the  usual  type  of  lesson 
development. 

Dramatized  Scripture  stories  and  incidents  are 
unusually  fine.  Biblical  and  missionary  pageants 
are  a  fine  type  of  oral  stimuli;  reports  on  assign¬ 
ments — anything  and  everything  which  calls  into 
play  the  pupil’s  own  activity. 

Manual  forms  of  lesson  expression  are  equally 
effective  in  arousing  the  self-activity  of  pupils. 
Maps  (physical,  political  and  historical)  are 
splendid  as  a  stimulus  to  self-expression.  The 
author  recalls  a  group  of  boys  who,  in  connection 
with  the  nine  months’  study  of  the  life  of  Christ 
from  the  viewpoint  of  the  four  Gospels,  made  an 

227 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


electrical  map  of  Palestine  in  the  time  of  Christ. 
An  outline  map  of  Palestine  (14x18  inches)  was 
mounted  on  thin,  one-quarter-inch  beaverboard. 
On  the  margin,  where  the  Great  Sea  is,  a  type¬ 
written  list  of  the  principal  points  of  interest  in 
connection  with  the  Master’s  life  was  mounted. 
Opposite  each  place  a  one-inch  brass  screw  was 
placed,  the  point  coming  out  on  the  reverse  side 
of  the  board.  Next,  the  principal  mountains, 
rivers,  cities  and  seas,  corresponding  with  the  names 
on  the  margin,  were  located  on  the  map  by  means 
of  similar  brass  screws,  the  name  being  written, 
not  on  the  map,  but  on  the  reverse  side  of  the  board 
where  the  screws  came  through.  The  map  was 
then  turned  over,  and  on  the  board  side  the  proper 
city,  mountain,  river  or  sea  on  the  margin  wired 
with  electric  wire  to  the  corresponding  screw  on 
the  map.  A  small  electric-light  bulb  was  then  in¬ 
serted  in  the  upper  left-hand  corner  of  the  map 
where  the  words  ‘‘Outline  Map  of  Palestine” 
appear.  Two  electric  wires  were  then  run  from 
the  light  socket  to  the  center  of  the  map  (top), 
brought  through  the  board  and  attached  to  two 
pointers.  The  small,  brass  curtain  rods  make 
excellent  pointers.  When  the  map-board  was  com¬ 
pleted  and  wired,  it  was  fastened  by  means  of 
hinges  to  a  box  about  six  inches  deep.  The  batter¬ 
ies  to  which  the  wires  were  attached  were  fastened 
in  the  lower  right-hand  corner  of  the  box,  and 

228 


GRADED  EXPRESSION 


the  map-lid  closed  by  means  of  hook  and  screw-eye 
fastener. 

The  map  was  made  by  the  boys  and  their 
teacher  in  the  through-the-week  period  of  the 
class  and  used  in  the  Sunday  period  in  mastering 
the  geographical  and  historical  background  of  the 
life  of  Christ.  The  teacher  would  take  one  of  the 
pointers  and  place  the  end  of  it  on  one  of  the 
screw-heads  along  the  margin,  opposite  the  name 
of  a  city,  river,  mountain,  or  sea.  A  pupil  would 
tell  what  happened  at  that  point,  and  with  the 
other  pointer  touch  the  screw  on  the  map  where 
the  event  occurred.  If  the  pupil  touched  the 
right  point  (no  names  of  places  appeared  on  the 
map),  the  electric-light  bulb  would  light  because 
the  circuit  had  been  completed;  if  not,  the  pointer 
went  to  another  member  of  the  class.  This  elec¬ 
trical  map  afforded  manual  expression  of  a  unique 
and  interesting  sort  in  the  mastering  of  places  and 
events  in  connection  with  their  study  of  the  life 
of  Christ. 

The  making  of  models  and  objects,  the  collect¬ 
ing  of  curios,  etc.,  acts  also  as  a  stimulus  to  manual 
expression.  The  author  recalls  another  teacher  of 
boys  who,  in  developing  the  story  of  the  life  of 
Paul,  outlined  his  lesson  material  in  the  form  of 
periods  or  epochs.  He  presented  Paul,  the  tent- 
maker,  learning  the  trade  of  his  father  in  his 
Tarsus  home;  Paul,  the  young  student  in  Jerusa¬ 
lem,  sitting  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel;  Paul,  the  per- 

229 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


seen  tor  of  the  despised  sect  known  as  Christians; 
Paul,  the  convert  to  Christianity;  Paul,  the  shep¬ 
herd  of  the  churches  in  Asia;  Paul  in  bonds;  Paul, 
the  writer;  and  finally  Paul,  a  prisoner  in  Rome 
awaiting-  the  judgment  of  Caesar. 

When  he  had  finished  the  development  of  the 
lesson,  he  turned  to  four  of  the  boys  in  the  class 
and  asked  each  one  of  them  to  write  during  the 
following  week  a  brief  three  or  four  hundred  word 
character  sketch  of  Paul,  with  at  least  one  para¬ 
graph  on  each  period  of  his  wonderful  life.  Then 
he  turned  to  the  other  fellows  and  aisked  each 
one  of  them  to  make  something  that  would  indicate 
one  of  these  periods  or  epochs  in  Paul’s  life.  Then 
he  said:  “ Bring  them  with  you  to  the  class  when 
you  come  next  Sunday,  and  I  will  show  you  what 
we  are  going  to  do.” 

When  the  class  assembled  the  Sunday  follow¬ 
ing,  the  teacher  placed  on  the  table  a  board 
(18x  24  inches)  covered  with  dark  green  burlap, 
with  picture-molding  around  the  outside  edge  and 
a  screw-eye  in  the  top.  He  took  the  four  biogra¬ 
phies  and  with  thumb-tacks  mounted  them,  one  on 
either  side  of  the  framed  burlap  board.  Then  he 
took  the  objects  the  other  fellows  had  made,  and 
with  their  aid  fastened  them,  one  by  one,  to  the 
board.  To  each  a  slip  of  paper  was  attached, 
indicating  the  event  or  events  that  the  boys  had  in 
mind  as  they  made  their  objects. 

230 


' 


Geography  Class,  First  Christian  Church.  Norfolk,  Va. 


GRADED  EXPRESSION 


The  one  who  was  to  present  Paul,  the  student, 
brought  a  scroll  on  which  the  Ten  Commandments 
were  written.  The  one  who  was  to  depict  Paul,  the 
persecutor  of  Christians,  brought  a  wooden  sword 
crudely  carved  out  in  boy  fashion.  The  one  who 
was  to  illustrate  Paul,  the  convert  to  Christianity, 
brought  a  small  tin  lamp  with  a  wick  in  it.  On 
the  slip  of  paper  attached  to  it  were  the  words, 
“And  a  great  light  shone  around.”  Paul,  the 
shepherd  of  the  churches  in  Asia,  was  represented 
by  a  miniature  shepherd’s  crook;  Paul  in  bonds,  by 
an  iron  weight;  Paul  the  author,  by  a  chicken’s 
quill,  and  Paul,  the  prisoner  in  Rome,  by  a 
wooden  stock  crudely  carved  out,  and  showing  the 
places  where  the  head,  hands  and  feet  of  criminals 
in  ancient  times  were  placed.  This  bit  of  manual 
work  was  hung  up  in  the  classroom,  and  referred 
to  frequently  as  they  continued  their  study  of  the 
missionary  journeys  of  the  apostle  Paul.  It  served 
as  a  stimulus  in  increasing  interest  in  the  greatest 
missionary  of  the  early  church. 

Biographies,  the  answering  of  questions  in  writ¬ 
ten  form,  the  tracing  of  journeys  on  outline  maps, 
theme  work,  outlines — these,  and  many  other  forms 
of  manual  expression,  will  help  to  call  forth  the 
self-activity  of  your  pupils. 

But  we  may  call  to  our  aid,  in  enlisting  the 
self-activity  of  pupils,  not  only  oral  and  manual 
types  of  lesson  expression,  but  moral  and  spiritual 

types  as  well.  One  splendid  teacher,  in  develop- 

231 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


ing  the  series  of  lessons  on  the  theme  “Companions 
of  Jesus”  (Intermediate  Graded  Lesson  Course), 
told  the  class  of  boys,  when  they  had  finished  their 
study  of  a  number  of  these  early  followers  of 
Jesus,  the  story  of  the  Passion  Play  at  Oberam- 
mergau,  in  Bavaria.  She  told  them  how  the 
peasants  to  whom  character  parts  have  been 
assigned  try,  during  the  ten  years  that  intervene 
between  the  giving  of  this  play,  to  actually  live 
the  life  of  the  Bible  character  assigned  to  them, 
with  the  hope  that  ten  years  later  they  will  so  well 
depict  their  character  as  to  be  chosen,  the  men  for 
the  part  of  Christos,  the  central  figure  in  the 
Passion  Play ;  and  the  women  for  the  part  of  Mary, 
the  mother  of  Jesus.  She  told  how  it  had  molded 
the  ideals  of  the  peasant  life  of  that  community, 
making  their  lives  cleaner  and  finer  than  the  lives 
of  other  peasants  of  less  fortunate  villages.  Then 
she  said:  “I  have  been  wondering,  as  we  have 
been  studying  this  series  of  lessons,  if  it  would  not 
help  us  if  we  were  to  try  to  actually  live  the  life 
of  these  companions  of  Jesus.”  She  asked  one 
boy  to  take  the  character  Andrew;  another,  James; 
another,  John  the  beloved;  another,  Peter,  and  so 
on  until  she  had  assigned  each  boy  a  man  charac¬ 
ter.  Then  she  said :  “I  will  take  Mary,  the  sister 
of  Lazarus,  and  I  will  try  to  live  as  I  think  she 
would  live  if  she  was  here  in  our  community 
to-day.  ’ ’ 


232 


GRADED  EXPRESSION 


Two  weeks  later  they  were  to  report  on  the  re¬ 
sults.  The  boy  who  was  to  play  the  part  of 
Andrew  said  he  had  shared  his  lunch  daily  with 
another  boy  in  school,  who  was  working  his  way 
through  and  had  been  going  without.  He  had 
in  mind  Andrew’s  finding  the  boy  with  the  loaves 
and  fishes,  and  bringing  him  to  Jesus.  The  boy 
that  was  to  play  the  part  of  John  the  beloved 
said  he  had  wheeled  a  paralytic  in  his  neighbor¬ 
hood  for  an  hour  each  day.  The  remarkable  thing 
brought  out  in  the  discussion  that  day  was  the 
fact  that  the  paralytic  had  lived  in  his  block  for 
years,  and  he  had  never  thought  to  offer  to  take 
him  out  for  an  hour  before.  The  lad  that  was  to 
take  the  part  of  Peter  said  he  had  held  his  tongue 
and  his  fists  when  both  were  in  danger  of  hurting 
people  (a  hot-tempered  boy,  who  usually  settled 
all  his  grievances  with  his  fists),  and  so  the  talking 
it  over  went  round  the  group.  Finally  the  teacher 
told  of  some  deeds  of  mercy  that  she  had  done  dur¬ 
ing  the  past  two  weeks,  that  she  felt  somehow 
Mary  would  have  found  time  to  do,  if  she  had 
been  living  in  their  community. 

A  bit  dangerous,  you  say  (such  a  form  of 
self-expression)  ?  I  grant  it.  Teachers  and  pupils 
might  easily  burlesque  a  thing  of  that  sort  and 
make  it  of  infinite  harm  to  the  group ,  but  it  was 
the  sincerity  and  earnestness  with  which  both 

teacher  and  pupils  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the 

233 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


thing  that  made  it  of  value  as  a  moral  and  spiritual 
type  of  lesson  expression. 

Tasks  that  have  to  do  with  individual  growth 
in  the  things  of  the  spirit;  service  activities  (both 
individual  and  group)  ;  missionary  and  benevolent 
work — all  these  things  will  help  teachers  to  trans¬ 
form  lessons  into  life  through  self-expression. 

How  to  Get  Results.1 

Plan  in  advance  the  ways  in  which  you  are 
going  to  enlist  the  self-activity  of  your  pupils.  Be 
specific  in  what  you  ask  them  to  do;  and  when 
pupils  make  a  perfectly  fine  contribution  of  any 
kind,  show  your  appreciation  by  commending  and 
using  it. 

Do  what  you  require  your  pupils  to  do,  and 
do  it  first.  If  you  are  going  to  ask  them  to  make 
a  harmony  of  the  Gospels,  make  yours  in  advance. 
The  teacher  is  a  guide ;  and  a  guide  knows,  because 
he  has  traveled  that  way  before. 

Do  not  ask  pupils  to  volunteer  to  draw  a  map, 
outline  a  lesson,  etc.  Take  it  for  granted  that  you 
have  their  co-operation.  Indicate  that  you  need 
certain  things  for  lessons  that  are  to  follow,  and 
ask  one  or  more  of  the  group  to  work  with  you 
in  getting  things  ready. 

An  educational  exhibit  of  completed  manual 
work  will  help  to  enlist  co-operation  in  the  future. 

1  Used  with  the  permission  of  the  Department  of  Religious  Educa¬ 
tion,  United  Christian  Missionary  Society. 

234 


GRADED  EXPRESSION 


Special  recognition  by  an  honor  seal,  or  some¬ 
thing  of  that  sort,  on  promotion  cards  and  certifi¬ 
cates,  will  serve  as  an  incentive  in  the  Intermediate 
and  Senior  departments.  The  graded  credit  system 
and  scholarship  plans  suggested  in  Chapters  II. 
and  III.  are  also  worthy  incentives. 

Remember,  top,  that  your  own  example  is  a 
mighty  factor.  If  you  expect  service  from  your 
pupils,  be  a  serving  Christian  yourself.  Let  the 
joy  you  find  in  service  glow  in  your  face  and 
radiate  in  your  life.  It  will  call  forth  an  answer¬ 
ing  joy  and  enthusiasm  for  service  on  the  part  of 
your  pupils. 

Social  and  Service  Activities. 

But  the  instruction  of  the  lesson  period  is  only 
a  part  of  the  educational  work  of  the  church 
through  its  church  school.  The  education  of  the 
“ between  lessons”  period  is  equally  important. 
The  church  school  touches  the  physical,  intellec¬ 
tual,  social  and  service  life  of  boys  and  girls;  and 
self-expression  along  all  of  these  lines  must  be 
called  into  play  continually  if  pupils  are  to  grow 
into  the  fullness  of  the  stature  of  the  Christ.  The 
church  in  its  educational  program  must  provide 
a  fitting  environment  for  the  expression  of  the 
social  instincts ;  for  the  basic  principle  in  work 
with  young  people  is  the  recognition  of  the  social 
element  in  education.  Class  and  department  social 
and  service  good  times,  especially  if  young  people 

235 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


have  a  large  share  in  planning  and  conducting 
such  activities,  mean  growth  in  social  ideals. 

One  departmental  activity  a  quarter  is  the 
minimum  in  the  church’s  program  of  work  with 
young  people,  and  a  monthly  departmental  activity 
is  always  to  be  preferred.  The  following  activities 
are  merely  suggestive: 

1.  Annual  membership  campaign.  Usually  in 
the  month  of  October.  Survey  the  community. 
Secure  the  names  and  addresses  of  all  young  people 
not  attending  church  and  Sunday  school.  Give 
each  class  a  certain  number  of  the  names  and 
addresses,  and  see  how  many  they  can  win  to 
regular  attendance  during  the  month  that  follows. 
Those  not  won  that  month  may  be  given  to  another 
class  the  next  month,  etc. 

2.  Annual  sale  of  Red  Cross  Christmas  seals  for 
the  tubercular  hospital  fund.  Take  the  church 
(or,  in  small  towns,  the  telephone)  directory. 
Apportion  alphabetically  its  pages  to  the  various 
classes  in  the  departments  of  the  Young  People’s 
Division,  with  the  understanding  that  the  sale  of 
stamps  (seals)  is  to  begin  the  middle  of  Novem¬ 
ber.  The  members  of  each  class  are  to  get  in  touch 
with  persons  whose  names  are  on  the  pages 
assigned  to  them,  and  sell  them  their  Red  Cross 
seals  for  Christmas  packages.  Turn  over  to  the 
Red  Cross  the  funds  received. 

3.  Be  responsible  for  a  community  Christmas 

tree  each  year  in  some  neglected  district.  Secure 

236 


GRADED  EXPRESSION 


from  the  members  of  the  church  filled  baskets  to 
go  to  needy  families,  and  that  may  be  given  out  in 
connection  with  the  tree  on  Christmas  eve.  Set 
the  different  classes  at  work  filling  surprise  bags 
for  the  children  of  the  poor.  Secure  donations 
of  fruit,  nuts,  candy,  etc.,  from  merchants,  to  be 
£iven  out  on  Christmas  eve.  In  fact,  let  the 
young  people  plan  and  carry  out  the  whole  com¬ 
munity  Christmas-tree  festival. 

4.  Annual  department  birthday  social.  Cele¬ 
brate  at  one  time  all  the  birthdays  for  the  year, 
by  grouping  together  the  pupils  bom  in  a  given 
month.  Appoint  in  advance  a  captain  for  each 
group.  Then  have  each  leader  call  his  group  to¬ 
gether  and  work  out  a  surprise  stunt  that  will 
indicate,  without  telling,  the  month  in  which  the 
group  was  bom.  For  illustration: 

January  might  take  “The  First’ ’  or  “Snowbound,”  etc. 

February,  “Washington’s  Birthday,”  “St  Valentine,” 
etc. 

March,  “The  Vernal  Equinox,”  “Inauguration  Day,” 
etc. 

April,  “April  Showers,”  “Easter,”  “April  Fool,”  etc. 

May,  “May  Apples,”  “May  Day,”  “Mothers’  Day,” 
etc. 

Each  group  should  get  together  at  least  once 
to  practice  their  charade  or  stunt.  On  the  night 
of  the  social  the  captain  of  each  group  will  an¬ 
nounce  the  number  of  facts  or  scenes  in  the  charade 
his  group  is  putting  on,  and  the ,  nupiber  of  sylla- 

237 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


bles  in  the  word,  or  words  in  the  phrase  or  sen¬ 
tence,  they  have  in  mind.  Each  group  should  be 
given  five  minutes  in  which  to  put  their  stunt  on, 
and  the  other  groups  three  minutes  in  which  to 
guess  what  the  month  is  and  what  word,  phrase 
or  sentence  that  month  has  in  mind.  The  months 
ought  not  to  be  called  in  their  calendar  order.  A 
blue  ribbon  may  be  awarded  for  the  most  clever 
stunt. 

5.  Fathers ’  and  Sons’  banquet  or  spread.  The 
fathers  to  entertain  their  sons  one  year  and  vice 
versa.  In  one  held  recently  in  the  downtown  sec¬ 
tion  of  a  city  in  the  Central  States  only  five  sons 
brought  their  own  fathers.  The  following  sub¬ 
jects  are  good  for  toasts: 

“When  Father  Wag  a  Boy." 

“The  Value  of  Comradeship. ' 1 

“What  a  Boy  Should  Expect  of  His  Dad. " 

“What  a  Dad  Should  Expect  of  His  Boy." 

“When  I  Get  to  Be  a  Man. " 

“W\hen  I  Was  a  Boy.  " 

“Being  Friends  with  One's  Family." 

The  following  suggested  banquet  program  from 
“All  the  Year  Round  Activities  for  Young 
People”1  is  suggestive: 

Theme:  “Father,  Son  and  Company." 

Toast — “Introducing  the  New  Firm." — Toastmaster. 

Toast — 1  1  The  Senior  Member  of  the  Firm. ' ' — A  Father. 

Music — Male  quartet. 

1  White,  Christian  Board  of  Publication,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

238 


GRADED  EXPRESSION 


Toast — “The  Junior  Member  of  the  Firm. ” — A  Boy. 

Toast — “Backing  the  Firm.” — Boys’  Work  Secretary  of 
Y.  M.  C.  A. 

Music — Orchestra. 

Toast — “The  Finest  Firm  in  the  World.” — The  Pastor. 
(This  toast  should  include  “Mother  and  God”  as  the  “Com¬ 
pany”  in  the  firm. 

Music — Male  Quartet. 

6.  Mothers’  Day1  party  or  banquet.  The 
mothers  to  entertain  their  daughters,  and  vice 
versa ;  or  the  whole  department,  both  boys  and 
girls,  may  entertain  together.  Usually  a  short 
program  of  music,  recitations  and  stunts,  followed 
by  games  and  refreshments.  If  a  banquet,  then 
some  such  themes  as  “Getting  Each  Other’s  View¬ 
point”  or  “Then  and  Now,”  around  which  the 
toasts  may  be  arranged.  The  following  program 
around  the  theme  “Then  and  Now”  provided  a 
delightful  evening  of  contrasts  between  the  mothers 
and  daughters  of  a  generation  ago  and  the  present 
day: 

Piano  Solo  During  Ensemble. 

Violin  Trio. 

Eats,  Songs  and  Yells. 

Toasts — Introducing  theme,  “Then  and  Now.” — Toast- 
mistress. 

1 1  Daughters  Then. 1  ’ — A  Mother. 

<  ‘  My  First  Beau.  ’  ’ — A  Mother  or  Middle-aged  Bachelor 
Woman. 

“How  He  Proposed.” — A  Young  Matron. 

1  “ AU  the  Year  Round,  Activities  for  Young  People,”  White  (pp. 
90-95),  contains  the  playlet,  “Then  and  Now.” 

239 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


“The  Funniest  Thing  that  Happened  on  My  Wedding 
Hay.” — A  Woman. 

Young  Ladies’  Quartet. 

Toasts — “Daughters  Now.” — An  Older  Girl, 

“Dates.” — A  Young  Matron. 

“Mates. ” — A  Mother. 

1  ‘  Matrimony.  ’  1 — A  Matron. 

Duet. 

Playlet — “Then  and  Now.”1 — By  Two  Middle-teens  Girls. 

Story — “Home”  (adapted  from  chapter  on  “Father”  in 
“In  the  Morning  Glow,”  by  Gilson). 

Hymn — “Blest  Be  the  Tie  that  Binds.” 

Benediction. 

7.  The  Fourth  of  July  Christmas  tree.  Get  in 
touch  with  some  mission  field  of  your  own  com¬ 
munion  and  find  out  the  little  things  they  need 
and  can  use  in  their  work.  •  Place  the  list  on  the 
bulletin-board  or  give  out  in  written  form  to  the 
presidents  of  organized  classes  within  the  depart¬ 
ment  or  division.  Announce  that  on  Fourth  of 
July  morning,  afternoon  or  evening  the  gifts  (one 
from  each  member  in  the  department  or  division) 
are  to  he  brought,  packed  in  the  missionary  box, 
and  shipped  to  the  mission  station  in  need.  It 
will  arrive  sometime  near  Christmas.  Sometimes 
this  may  be  held  in  connection  with  a  Fourth  of 
July  breakfast  for  young  people,  the  group  going 
in  a  body,  after  the  box  has  been  packed,  to  some 
park  or  playground  to  direct  games  for  children 
and  help  to  provide  a  sane  and  safe  Fourth. 

1  “AU  the  Tear  Round  Activities  for  Young  People,”  White  (pp. 
90-95),  contains  the  playlet,  “Then  and  Now.” 

240 


GRADED  EXPRESSION 


8.  Annual  banquet  for  young  people.  Themes: 
“In  Training,”  “Measuring  Up,”  “Preparedness,” 
“Rebuilding  the  Wall,”  etc.  The  following  pro¬ 
gram  will  be  suggestive  as  to  how  boys  and  girls 
and  young  people  may  be  developed  through  plan¬ 
ning  and  participating  in  affairs  of  this  type: 

Banquet  Theme:  “Measuring  Up.” 

Toastmaster — An  Older  Boy  or  Girl. 

Song — ‘ 1  America. 1  ’ 

Invocation — The  Minister. 


EATS. 

Class  and  Department  Songs,  Yells  and  Slogans. 

Toast  of  Welcome. — Teen-age  Boy  or  Girl. 

Response. — By  Pastor,  Member  of  Church  Board  or  Su¬ 
perintendent. 

Toasts : 

“The  Girl  that  Measures  Up.” — By  an  Older  Girl. 

“The  Boy  that  Measures  Up.” — By  an  Older  Boy. 

Duet  or  Solo. 

Toasts : 

‘  ‘  The  Teacher  that  Measures  Up.  ’  ’ — By  Teacher  or  Older 
Boy  or  Girl. 

‘ 1  The  Class  that  Measures  Up.  ’  ’ — By  a  Class  President. 
“The  Department  that  Measures  Up.” — By  a  Department 
Superintendent  or  Counselor. 

Special  Music. 

Toasts : 

1 1  The  School  that  Measures  Up.  y  ’ — By  the  General  Super¬ 
intendent. 

‘ 1  The  Life  that  Measures  Up.  ’  * — By  the  Pastor  or  an  Out¬ 
side  Speaker. 

Farewell  Song. 

Benediction. 

16 


241 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


9.  Participation  in  city-wide,  county,  State 
and  regional  Older  Boys’,  Older  Girls’  and  Young 
People’s  Conferences;  and  in  the  Young  People’s 
Division  (Secondary)  crusades  for  community 
betterment.  See  Chapters  XIII.  and  XIV.  of 
“The  Boy  and  the  Sunday  School,”  by  Alexander, 
for  plans  and  program. 

10.  Participation  in  denominational  young 
people’s  conferences,  missionary  conferences,  sum¬ 
mer  schools  and  assemblies.  Write  your  own  mis¬ 
sionary  boards  and  Sunday-school  headquarters 
for  plans  and  programs. 

Program  Building  Sources. 

The  following  list  of  books  provides  an  abun¬ 
dance  of  material  for  the  building  or  adequate 
and  worth-while  social  and  service  programs  of 
the  nature  of  the  pupils  with  whom  we  are  to  work, 
expression  for  young  people.  They  should  be  made 
available  to  young  people  through  the  church’s 
library. 

‘‘All  the  Year  Bound  Activities  for  Young  People, 5 ’ 
White. 

‘  ‘  Phunology, 1  ’  Harbin. 

1 1  Ice-breakers,  ’  ’  Geister. 

“It  Is  to  Laugh, } y  Geister. 

‘  ‘  Games  for  the  Playground,  Home,  School  and  Gym¬ 
nasium,  ”  Bancroft. 

“Good  Times  with  Girls,”  Moxcey. 

“Camp  and  Outing  Activities  for  Boys,”  Cheeley-Baker. 

“The  Training  School  of  Popularity,”  Dennis  (for  girls). 

242 


GRADED  EXPRESSION 


11  Indoor  Games  and  Socials  for  Boys,  ”  Baker. 

“  Missionary  Education  in  Home  and  School/  ’  Diffen- 
dorfer. 

‘  ‘  Graded  Social  Service,  ’  ’  Hutchins. 

“  Bible  Plays  for  Young-  People, r>  Benton. 

“  Dramatized  Missionary  Stories  for  Young  People/ 9  Bus¬ 
sell. 

“Dramatized  Bible  Stories  for  Young  People/’  KusselL 
TEACHING  OUTLINE. 

Purpose  of  Graded  Expression. 

1.  Purpose  of  worship  is  to  cultivate  the  feelings  ;  purpose 
of  instruction  is  intellectual — deals  with  acquisition  of  new 
ideas;  the  purpose  of  expression  is  motor — it  deals  with  the 
acquisition  of  new  habits  of  action. 

2.  Activity  is  the  fundamental  law  in  human  development 
— it  is  method  by  which  one  comes  into  possession  of  powers 
of  self-expression. 

Forms  of  Self-expression. 

1.  Forms  of  self-activity  are  as  varied  as  the  phases  of 
life  itself,  for  the  law  of  self -activity  applies  to  every  faculty 
of  the  human  soul. 

(1)  Material  world  in  which  we  live — home,  church, 
school,  community,  etc. — provides  the  Environment 
in  which  this  self -activity  finds  expression. 

2.  Task  of  church  is  to  provide  young  people  with  such 
a  physical,  intellectual,  social  and  religious  environment  as 
will  make  possible  their  highest  moral  and  spiritual  develop¬ 
ment  through  self-expression. 

Types  of  Expression  that  May  Be  Provided  by  the 

Church  School. 

1.  Lesson  expression: 

(1)  Oral: 


243 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


(a)  Answering  of  questions,  discussion,  etc. 

(b)  Reports  on  assignments. 

(c)  Stories. 

(d)  Debates. 

(2)  Manual: 

(a)  Making  of  maps: 

Physical — paper  pulp,  putty,  plastecine  or  on 
sand-table  to  show  relief  of  the  land. 

Political — outline  maps,  coloring  sections  to 
show  extent  of  boundary. 

Historical — outline  maps  for  tracing  of  jour¬ 
neys,  locating  of  events,  etc. 

Electrical — mechanical  for  the  teaching  of  his¬ 
tory  and  geography. 

(b)  Making  of  objects,  models  and  curios. 

(c)  Posters,  mottoes,  slogans,  ete. 

(d)  Harmony  of  Gospels  (life  of  Christ). 

(e)  Biographical  sketches,  outlines,  written  answers 
to  questions,  etc. 

(3)  Moral  and  spiritual  types: 

(a)  Living  life  of  Bible  characters.  Dramatization, 
impersonation,  pageantry,  etc. 

(b)  Social  and  service  types  of  expression. 

How  to  Get  Results. 

1.  Plan  in  advance  the  ways  in  which  you  are  going  to 
enlist  the  self -activity  of  your  pupils. 

(1)  Be  specific  in  what  you  ask  pupils  to  do,  and  show 
appreciation  by  commending  and  using  contribu¬ 
tions. 

2.  Do  what  you  are  going  to  require  your  pupils  to  do, 
and  do  it  first — in  advance. 

3.  Let  the  pupils  work  with  you  in  making  and  doing 
things. 

4.  An  educational  exhibit  of  completed  manual  work  will 
help  to  enlist  the  co-operation  of  pupils  in  the  future. 

244 


GRADED  EXPRESSION 


5.  Special  recognition,  by  honor  seal  or  something  of  that 
sort,  on  diplomas  and  promotion  day  cards. 

6.  Your  own  example  is  a  mighty  factor.  If  you  expect 
service,  be  a  serving  Christian  yourself. 

Social  and  Service  Activities. 

1.  Instruction  of  lesson  period  is  but  a  part  of  educational 
work  of  church. 

(1)  Education  of  “between  lessons”  period  is  equally 
important. 

2.  Class  and  department  social,  recreational  and  service 
good  times,  especially  if  young  people  have  a  large  share  in 
planning  and  conducting  such  activities,  result  in  growth  and 
development  in  social  and  service  ideals. 

3.  Organized-class  program  should  include  as  a  minimum 
at  least  one  through-the-week  meeting  each  month  for  social, 
recreational  and  service  expression. 

4.  One  departmental  activity  a  quarter  is  the  minimum  for 
even  a  small-town  or  rural  church  in  working  out  a  program 
of  social  expression  with  young  people.  A  once-a-month  ac¬ 
tivity  is  much  to  be  preferred: 

(1)  Make  the  departmental  social  and  service  program 
seasonal  in  its  appeal. 

(2)  Have  the  young  people  make  a  social  service  survey 
for  types  of  social  and  service  expression  in  which 
they  should  engage. 

(3)  Discuss  the  ten  types  of  social  and  service  activi¬ 
ties  presented  on  pages  236-242  of  “Youth  and 
the  Church.” 

QUESTIONS  FOE  STUDY  AND  DISCUSSION. 

1.  Define  activity  and  give  the  purpose  of  expression. 

2.  Name  three  types  of  lesson  expression  that  may  be 
used  to  advantage  by  teachers  in  church’s  school. 

245 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


3.  Suggest  five  things  that  will  help  a  teacher  to  get  re¬ 
sults  in  the  field  of  lesson  expression. 

4.  What  is  the  minimum  standard  for  class  and  depart¬ 
ment  good  times? 

5.  Outline  a  social  and  service  departmental  activity  pro¬ 
gram  for  a  year,  giving  suggestion  for  at  least  one  good  de¬ 
partmental  activity  a  quarter. 


X 


THE  ULTIMATE  GOAL 

WE  have  thought  through  together  the  origin 
and  growth  of  the  Young  People’s  (Second¬ 
ary)  Division  of  the  church’s  school  with  relation 
to  the  youth  of  the  church.  We  have  considered 
the  nature  of  the  pupils  with  whom  we  are  to  work, 
and  the  aims  we  hope  to  realize  in  the  life  of 
young  people  as  we  put  our  hands  to  the  task  of 
molding  human  clay  into  the  fullness  of  the 
stature  (physical,  intellectual,  social  and  spiritual) 
of  the  Christ.  We  have  talked  of  the  organization, 
the  equipment,  the  program  and  the  activities 
through  which  we  hope  to  realize  in  the  life  of  the 
youth  of  the  church  the  ideals  of  Jesus  in  building 
among  his  fellow-men  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

Perhaps  it  would  be  well  for  us  in  this  closing 
chapter  to  think  through  together  some  things  that 
are  deeper  and  more  fundamental  than  any  of  the 
things  we  have  considered  hitherto,  and  that  must 
be  in  the  life  of  the  leadership  of  the  youth  of  the 
church  if  we  are  to  realize  the  ultimate  goal  of  the 
church  for  its  youth ;  namely,  to  win  to  Christ, 

to  hold  and  train  for  His  service,  and  to  enlist  in 

247 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


His  kingdom-building  enterprise  in  the  home, 
church,  community  and  world. 

The  first  emphasis  must  of  necessity  be  on  the 
“ inner  life”  of  the  leadership  of  young  people. 
In  these  days  there  is  an  overwhelming  tendency 
to  stress  the  external.  Efficiency !  Efficiency ! 
We  hear  it  on  every  hand !  But  no  external 
efficiency,  no  skill  in  management  and  organiza¬ 
tion,  no  equipment,  no  special  knowledge  or  knack 
in  handling  either  individuals  or  groups  of  ado¬ 
lescents,  will  ever  make  up  for  an  inward  lack  of 
the  spirit  of  Christ.  Nowhere  is  it  more  true  than 
in  dealing  with  young  people  that  “the  letter 
killeth;  but  the  spirit  maketh  alive.”  For  when¬ 
ever  and  wherever  the  spirit  of  Christ  is  enshrined 
in  the  heart  of  the  leadership  of  young  people — 
no  matter  how  inadequate  the  organization  and 
equipment,  how  poor  the  environment,  how  scant 
the  opportunity  for  growth  and  training  of  youth 
in  service — there  Christ  is,  and  there  His  life- 
giving  power  which  perfects  all  human  imperfec¬ 
tions  manifests  itself.  The  spirit  of  Christ  is  not 
something  external.  It  is  an  inward  disposition 
that  determines  one’s  attitude  toward  God,  toward 
man,  and  toward  the  problems  of  human  experience. 
It  has  to  do  with  the  roots  of  life,  determining  con¬ 
duct  and  ripening  character. 

The  growth  and  development  of  one’s  own 
spiritual  life  is  not  something  we  can  take  for 

granted;  for  while  it  is  true  that  man  is  by  nature 

248 


THE  ULTIMATE  GOAL 


Religious,  it  is  also  true  that  the  religious  instinct 
is  subject  to  the  same  laws  of  growth  and  develop¬ 
ment  that  govern  all  other  human  powers.  Exer¬ 
cise  means  growth ;  the  lack  of  exercise,  atrophy 
and  death. 

Is  your  own  spiritual  life  growing  from  year 
to  year  ?  Bible  study,  prayer  and  meditation, 
daily  Christian  living — these  are  the  avenues 
through  which  the  soul  grows  Godward.  Teachers 
and  leaders  of  young  people  ought  to  be  the  happi¬ 
est  people  in  the  world.  In  the  preparation  of  les¬ 
sons  from  week  to  week  they  should  find  real  joy, 
for  lessons  studied  prayerfully  and  conscientiously 
afford  opportunity,  not  only  for  guiding  the  growth 
and  development  of  boys  and  girls,  but  a  steady 
and  systematic  growth  in  one’s  own  spiritual  life 
as  well.  Love  your  task ;  be  passionately  inter¬ 
ested  in  your  work,  for  the  gospel  story  can  never 
become  “glad  tidings”  to  others  except  through 
the  personal  manifestation  of  Christ’s  own  miracle- 
working  power  in  your  soul. 

Do  you  pray  often,  going  apart,  as  Jesus  did, 
into  some  place  of  quiet  and  solitude,  and  lifting 
your  voice  to  God  in  prayer  for  your  own  life  that 
it  may  be  the  human  instrument  used  of  Him  for 
divine  purposes?  If  not,  then  you  are  neglecting 
the  means  of  growth  which  Jesus  in  His  own  life 
here  on  earth  used  most.  Make  a  prayer  list  of 
your  own  pupils.  Study  their  individual  lives, 

their  strength  and  weakness.  Go  often  into  youi 
17  249 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


own  closet  apart,  and  there  lift  their  names,  one 
by  one,  to  God  in  prayer.  Read  the  seventeenth 
chapter  of  John — the  High-Priestly  prayer  of  onr 
crucified  Lord — and  note  how  Jesus  prayed  for 
those  whom  the  Father  had  entrusted  to  Him. 

Are  you  weak,  conscious  of  your  own  inability 
to  live  daily  as  a  child  of  God  should  live?  Take 
it  to  Him  in  prayer,  for  your  strength  cometh  from 
Him.  Do  not  pray  to  be  excused  because  of  some 
human  frailty  or  inability.  Pray  to  be  used 
abundantly,  for  strength  cometh  through  exercise. 
Phillips  Brooks  says :  ‘  ‘  Do  not  pray  for  easy  lives. 
Pray  to  be  stronger  than  you  are.  Do  not  pray  for 
tasks  equal  to  your  powers.  Pray  for  powers 
equal  to  your  tasks !  Then  the  doing  of  your 
work  shall  be  no  miracle.  But  you  shall  be  a 
miracle ;  every  day  you  shall  wonder  at  yourself, 
at  the  richness  of  life  which  has  come  to  you  by 
the  grace  of  God.” 

Teachers  and  leaders  of  young  people  must  not 
only  be  sincerely  and  devoutly  spiritual,  but  they 
must  have  a  faith  that  is  genuine  and  stedfast. 
In  these  days  of  scientific  investigation,  when  God, 
Christ  and  the  human  soul  are  being  placed  in  the 
crucible  of  laboratory  experimentation  and  observa¬ 
tion,  the  teachers  of  the  young  must  have  the  kind 
of  a  faith  that  shines  through,  and  is  triumphant 
over,  all  doubts.  Suppose  that  science  should  dis¬ 
cover  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  God  and  the 

human  soul.  Would  it  kill  faith,  hope  and  love 

250 


THE  ULTIMATE  GOAL 


in  humanity?  Would  it  still  the  longing  in  your 
life  for  companionship  with  an  all-wise  Father, 
the  love  of  home  and  country,  the  joys  and  sor¬ 
rows  of  your  every-day  life,  your  appreciation  of 
the  beautiful,  or  the  feeling  of  sympathy  that 
comes  through  fellowship  in  suffering?  No!  These 
things  can  not  be  disturbed  by  scientific  investiga¬ 
tion,  because  they  are  part  of  the  warp  and  woof 
of  humanity.  Richard  Watson  Gilder  says: 

‘ 1  Wherever  there  are  tears  and  sighs, 

Wherever  there  are  children ’s  eyes, 

Wherever  man  calls  man  his  brother 
And  loves,  as  himself,  another, 

Christ  lives.  ’  ’ 

The  task  of  the  teacher  and  leader  of  young 
people  is  to  live  Christ  a  little  better  every  day, 
and  they  will  feel  God,  for  Christ  and  the  Father 
are  one.  “Other  foundation  can  no  man  lay  [scien¬ 
tist  or  otherwise]  than  that  which  is  laid,  which  is 
Jesus  Christ.”  Do  you  associate  closely  enough 
with  Christ  to  say  with  Paul,  “For  I  know  him 
whom  I  have  believed,  and  am  persuaded  that  he 
is  able  to  guard  that  which  I  have  committed  unto 
him  against  that  day”?  Try  it;  it  will  give  you 
the  triumphant  faith,  and  help  you  to  lead  boys 
and  girls  through  the  critical  years  of  adolescence. 

The  leadership  of  youth  must  have  not  only 
a  faith  that  is  sure  and  stedfast;  but  a  hope  that 
is  eternal,  that  knows  no  such  thing  as  discourage¬ 
ment,  that  sees  no  insurmountable  difficulties,  that 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


radiates  joy  and  enthusiasm  in  service,  that  out 
of  weakness  and  inefficiency  brings  strength  and 
perfection.  Youth  in  its  very  nature  demands  a 
leadership  that  is  interested,  optimistic  and  en¬ 
thusiastic.  Young  people  know  no  such  thing  as 
failure.  With  them  there  is  no  limit  of  energy,  of 
capacity  or  of  power ;  and  they  will  not  follow 
long  leadership  that  is  uninterested,  that  does  little 
or  nothing,  or  that  fails  to  bring  to  a  successful 
completion  things  that  have  been  begun.  They 
want  to  be  challenged  to  do  big  things  in  a  big 
way;  and  they  need  to  be  guided,  directed  and 
encouraged  by  a  wise  and  enthusiastic  leadership 
to  bring  to  a  successful  fruition  every  enterprise 
that  is  begun. 

Then,  too,  the  teachers  and  leaders  of  young 
people  must  have  love  for  Christ,  His  church  and 
His  kingdom;  and  it  must  be  love  of  the  sacrificial 
sort.  Jesus  expressed  the  kind  of  love  we  must 
have  when  He  said  to  His  disciples,  “Love  one 
another  as  I  have  loved  you ;  ’  ’  and  then  He  gave 
His  life  to  evidence  how  great  was  that  love.  If 
you  are  unwilling  to  deny  yourself;  unwilling  to 
forget  your  own  desires,  pleasures,  ambitions,  for 
the  good  of  the  individual,  the  church  and  the  king¬ 
dom — you  can  not  hope  to  lead  adolescents  into  the 
fullness  of  the  abundant  life.  The  test  of  your 
efficiency  is  not  how  many  facts  you  have  taught 
your  pupils,  but  what  boys  and  girls  under  your 

leadership  have  become.  Phillips  Brooks  says : 

252 


THE  ULTIMATE  GOAL 


4 ‘Greater  than  anything  else  in  education,  vastly 
greater  than  any  question  about  how  many  facts 
a  teacher  may  have  taught  his  pupils,  there  must 
always  be  this  other  question:  Into  what  presence 
has  he  introduced  him;  before  what  standard  has 
he  made  his  pupil  stand?  In  the  answer  to  that 
question  are  all  the  deepest  issues  of  the  pupil's 
life."  Are  you  introducing  your  boys  and  girls 
to  Him  from  year  to  year  with  ever-increasing 
power  and  skill?  Are  you  helping  them  to  realize 
in  their  own  lives  the  Christ  ideal  in  life  and 
conduct  ?  Love,  of  a  sacrificial  sort,  embodying 
itself  in  your  life  will  do  more  to  vitalize  and 
personalize  the  spirit  of  Christ  in  the  lives  of 
young  people  than  any  other  force.  Read  the 
thirteenth  chapter  of  First  Corinthians  and  ask 
yourself  how  many  of  the  attributes  of  love  are 
finding  increasing  expression  in  your  own  daily 
life.  What  you  a/re  will  determine  in  a  large 
measure  what  you  are  able  to  help  your  pupils  to 
become. 

The  goal  of  Christian  education  is  to  produce, 
through  worship,  instruction  and  expression  groups 
of  trained,  consecrated  Christian  lives  dedicated 
to  the  task  of  building  in  this  world  the  kingdom 
of  God.  It  can  only  be  realized  through  a  leader¬ 
ship  that  is  on  fire  with  the  love  and  passion  of 
Christ  for  the  souls  of  men  everywhere.  It  re¬ 
quires  a  leadership  that  feels,  that  knows,  that 

cares.  WFen  in  all  the  body  of  Christ  we  shall 

253 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


come  to  have  groups  of  knowing,  feeling,  caring 
teachers  who  see  the  whole  task  of  the  church  with 
relation  to  the  kingdom-building  enterprise  of  our 
Lord,  and  their  share  in  that  task,  then  we  will  be 
in  position  to  realize  in  the  life  of  young  people 
the  view  of  a  world  church,  a  world  program,  and 
a  world  kingdom. 

Just  now  the  world  is  feeling  after  God  as  it 
has  not  felt  before;  just  now  the  world  is  calling 
upon  God  as  it  has  not  called  before.  America 
is  calling,  war-cursed  Europe  is  calling,  Asia's 
needy  millions  are  calling,  the  dark-skinned 
Africans  are  calling,  the  whole  of  Latin  America 
is  calling,  the  islands  of  the  seas  are  calling ; 
while  the  coming  of  the  kingdom,  the  Fatherhood 
of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  man,  wait  for  the 
teachers  of  youth  to  so  live,  teach  and  serve  as  to 
inspire  the  youth  of  the  church  to  bring  to  pass  in 
this  world  the  kingdom  of  God. 

Leaders  of  youth,  purge,  therefore,  yourselves. 
Live  purely,  love  passionately,  serve  supremely, 
for  “the  King’s  business  requireth  haste.” 

TEACHING  OUTLINE. 

Goals  to  Be  Achieved. 

1.  The  ultimate  goal  of  the  church  for  its  youth  is: 

(1)  To  "win  to  Christ. 

(2)  To  hold  and  train  for  service. 

(3)  To  enlist  in  the  kingdom-building  enterprise  in  the 
home,  chureh,  community  and  world. 

254 


THE  ULTIMATE  GOAL 


Things  Fundamental  in  the  Accomplishment  of  These 

Goals. 

1.  Essential  in  the  life  and  leadership  of  the  youth  of  the 
church : 

(1)  The  spirit  of  Christ. 

(a)  ‘  ‘  The  letter  Tcilleth,  but  the  Spirit  maketh 
alive.  '  ’ 

(b)  No  external  efficiency  will  make  up  for  an  in¬ 
ward  lack  of  the  spirit  of  Christ. 

(c)  Not  something  external,  but  an  inward  disposi¬ 
tion  that  determines  one 's  attitude  toward  God, 
man  and  the  fundamental  problems  of  human 
experience. 

(d)  It  has  to  do  with  roots  of  life,  determining  con¬ 
duct  and  ripening  character. 

(2)  Growth  and  development  of  one's  own  spiritual 
life. 

(a)  May  not  be  taken  for  granted. 

(b)  Spiritual  development  is  subject  to  the  same 
laws  of  growth  and  development  that  govern 
all  other  human  powers.  Exercise  means 
growth,  lack  of  exercise,  atrophy  and  death. 

(e)  Avenues  through  which  the  .soul  grows  God- 
ward: 

Bible  study  and  correlated  subjects. 

Prayer  and  meditation. 

Daily  Christian  living. 

(3)  Three  foundation  stones  in  building  a  Christlike 
character : 

(a)  A  faith  that  is  genuine  and  stedfast. 

((IAve  Christ  and  you  will  feel  God,  for  He 
and  the  Father  are  one.” 

Associate  closely  enough  with  Christ  to  say 
with  Paul,  ‘ 1  For  I  know  in  whom  I  have  be¬ 
lieved,  and  am  persuaded  that  he  is  able  to 
255 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


guard  that  which  I  have  committed  unto  him 
against  that  day.'*’ 

(b)  A  hope  that  is  eternal: 

That  knows  no  such  thing  as  discouragement, 
that  sees  no  insurmountable  obstacles,  that  ra¬ 
diates  joy  and  enthusiasm  in  service. 

(c)  Love  for  Christ ,  His  church,  and  the  Jcrngdom. 
Love  of  a  sacrificial  sort,  embodying  itself  in 
your  life,  will  do  more  to  vitalize  and  personal¬ 
ize  the  spirit  of  Christ  in  lives  of  young  people 
than  any  other  force. 

Goal  of  Christian  Education. 

1.  To  produce  through  worship,  instruction  and  expression 
groups  of  trained,  consecrated,  Christian  lives  dedicated  to  the 
task  of  building  in  this  world  the  kingdom  of  God. 

(1)  Can  be  realized  only  by  a  leadership  that  is  on  fire 
with  the  love  and  passion  of  Christ  for  souls  of 
men. 

(a)  Eequires  a  leadership  that  feels,  that  hnows, 
that  cares . 

(b)  Teachers  that  see  whole  task  of  church,  and 
their  share  in  that  task,  will  enable  us  to  realize 
in  the  life  of  young  people  the  view  of — 

A  world  church. 

A  world  kingdom. 

A  world  program. 

2.  World  is  feeling  after  God  and  calling  upon  God  as  it 
has  never  felt  and  called  before: 

(1)  The  coming  of  the  kingdom  waits  for  leaders  of 
youth  to  so  live,  teach  and  serve  as  to  inspire  youth 
to  bring  to  pass  in  this  generation  the  kingdom  of 
God. 

3.  Leaders  of  youth,  purge  yourselves.  Live  purely,  love 
passionately,  serve  supremely,  for  “the  King’s  business  re- 
quireth  haste.” 


256 


THE  ULTIMATE  GOAL 


QUESTIONS  FOR  STUDY  AND  DISCUSSION. 

1.  Name  the  three  goals  to  be  achieved  by  the  church  in 
working  with  young  people. 

2.  What  five  things  are  essential  in  the  life  and  leadership 
of  the  youth  of  the  church  if  these  goals  are  accomplished? 

3.  What  are  the  avenues  by  which  leaders  of  young  people 
may  develop  their  individual  spiritual  lives? 

4.  What  is  the  goal  of  Christian  education? 

5.  To  accomplish  this  goal,  what  three  things  are  required 
of  the  leadership  of  the  youth  of  the  church? 


257 


EXAMINATION  QUESTIONS1 


METHODOLOGY  UNIT  (YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH), 

YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  SPECIALIZATION,  STAND¬ 
ARD  TEACHER-TRAINING  COURSE 

EXPLANATION. 

The  questions  listed  below  are  presented  with  the  idea  that 
the  student  should  be  able  to  apply,  not  only  the  knowledge 
gained  by  the  study  of  this  text,  but  also  to  show  conclusively 
that  he  is  able  to  use  the  information  in  a  practical  way. 
The  aim  of  the  new  Standard  Teacher-training  Course  is  to 
prepare  teachers  and  leaders  for  intelligent,  effective  Chris¬ 
tian  leadership  in  the  local  church.  In  realizing  this  aim, 
the  mastering  of  the  content  in  the  text-books  is  second¬ 
ary, — ability  to  apply  the  knowledge  gained  through  the  study 
of  the  texts  to  concrete  situations  is  of  prime  importance. 
Think  through  carefully  your  own  local  church  situation  and 
answer  these  questions  on  the  text  in  the  light  of  the  needs 
of  young  people  and  the  way  in  which  your  church  is  meeting 
and  should  meet  these  needs. 

QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  the  real  work  of  the  church,  and  what  are  the 
natural  units  of  organization  for  correlating  the  educational, 
evangelistic  and  missionary  work  of  the  church? 

2.  (a)  State  the  aim  of  Christian  education,  (b)  With 
the  aim  of  Christian  education  in  mind,  give  four  reasons 

1  Used  with  the  permission  of  the  Department  of  Religious  Educa¬ 
tion  of  the  United  Christian  Missionary  Society. 

258 


EXAMINATION  QUESTIONS 


for  the  reorganization  of  young  people’s  work  in  the  local 
church. 

3.  Give  the  specific  aims  for  the  Intermediate  (12-14) 
years,  and  suggest  a  simple  form  of  departmental  organiza¬ 
tion  which  will  help  in  accomplishing  these  aims. 

4.  With  the  International  Graded  Lessons  in  mind  suggest 

t 

a  simple  standard  of  required  work  for  the  Senior  (15-17) , 
years,  covering  memory  work,  outlines,  themes,  etc.,  and  .give 
a  system  of  credits  for  the  Senior  department  that  will  help 
the  pupil  to  master  the  required  content. 

5.  (a)  Name  five  good  elective  courses  for  young  people’s 
classes,  (b)  Suggest  a  correlated  educational  program  cover¬ 
ing  the  work  of  the  Bible  school,  Christian  Endeavor  and 
missionary  circles  for  the  Young  People’s  (18-24)  depart¬ 
ment. 

6.  Discuss  class  groupings  (size,  sex,  etc.)  and  suggest  a 
simple  plan  of  organization  for  Intermediate,  Senior  and 
Young  People’s  classes. 

7.  (a)  Give  three  reasons  for  fourfold  programs  of  devel¬ 
opment  for  young  people,  (b)  Name  three  things  that  should 
be  included  in  (1)  physical,  (2)  intellectual,  (3)  social  and 
(4)  religious  program  for  Intermediates  and  Seniors. 

8.  (a)  Name  the  essential  steps  in  lesson-building,  (b) 
Select  one  of  the  following  lessons 1  and  outline  in  detail  your 
method  of  lesson  development: 

(1)  Intermediate  (second  year),  “Hezekiah,  the  King 
Who  Trusted  Jehovah.”  Biblical  material,  2 
Kings  18-20;  2  Chronicles  29-32;  Isaiah  36-38. 

(2)  Senior  (first  year,  Lesson  VI.),  11  Jesus  Resisting 
Temptation.”  Biblical  material,  Matt.  4:  1-11; 
Mark  1:  12,  13;  Luke  4:  1-13;  John  1:  19-34. 

9.  (a)  Define  worship,  (b)  Give  the  purpose  of  wor¬ 
ship.  (c)  Select  a  theme  of  worship  and  outline  a  worship 


1  Access  to  Bible  and  lesson  material  is  permissible. 


259 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


program  around  that  theme  for  either  the  Intermediate  or 
Senior  department. 

10.  (a)  Define  activity  and  give  the  purpose  of  expression. 

(b)  Name  three  types  of  lesson  expression,  (c)  Name  three 
types  of  lesson  expression  and  suggest  five  things  that  will 
help  a  teacher  to  get  results  in  the  field  of  lesson  expression. 

(c)  Describe  a  good  social  or  service  departmental  activity 
for  each  quarter  of  the  year. 

Note. — The  preceding  list  of  questions  is  suggested  for 
examination  purposes  where  li  youth  and  the  Church7 7  is  used 
as  the  text -book  for  the  1 1  methodology  unit77  of  the  new 
Standard  Teacher-training  Course. 


260 


I 


A  CLASSIFIED  LIST  OF  BOOKS 

FOR  TEACHERS  AND  LEADERS  OF  INTERME¬ 
DIATES,  SENIORS  AND  YOUNG  PEOPLE 

ADOLESCENT  PSYCHOLOGY. 

Slattery,  The  Girl  m  Her  Teens,  Pilgrim  Press,  Boston, 
Mass. 

Moxcey,  Girlhood  and  Character,  The  Abingdon  Press, 
New  York  City. 

Slattery,  The  Girl  and  Her  Religion,  Pilgrim  Press,  Bos¬ 
ton,  Mass. 

McKeever,  Training  the  Girl,  The  Macmillan  Company, 
New  York  City. 

Slattery,  The  Girl  and  Her  Community,  Pilgrim  Press, 
Boston,  Mass. 

Espey,  Leaders  of  Girls,  The  Abingdon  Press,  New  York 
City. 

LowTy,  Confidences  (talks  to  a  girl  about  herself),  Forbes 
&  Company,  Chicago,  Ill. 

Hall,  From  Youth  to  Manhood,  Association  Press,  New 
York  City. 

Lowry,  Truths  (talks  to  a  boy  about  himself),  Forbes  & 
Company,  Chicago,  Ill. 

Forbush,  The  Boy  Problem,  The  Westminster  Press,  New 
York  City. 

Burr,  Adolescent  Boyhood,  The  Seminar  Publishing  Com¬ 
pany,  Springfield,  Mass. 

McKeever,  Training  the  Boy,  The  Macmillan  Company, 
New  York  City. 

McKeever,  Brothering  the  Boy,  Griffith  &  Rowland  Press, 
Philadelphia, .  Pa. 


261 


YOUTH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


Alexander,  The  Boy  and  the  Sunday  School,  Association 
Press,  New  York  City. 

King,  The  High  School  Age,  The  Bobbs-Merrill  Company, 
Indianapolis,  Ind. 

Mudge,  The  Psychology  of  Early  Adolescence,  The  Cax- 
ton  Press,  New  York  City. 

Richardson,  The  Religious  Education  of  Adolescence,  The 
Abingdon  Press,  New  York  City. 

Alexander,  The  Sunday  School  and  the  Teens  and  The 
Teens  and  the  Rural  Sunday  School,  Association  Press,  New 
York  City. 

METHODS. 

Athearn,  The  Church  School,  The  Pilgrim  Press,  Boston, 
Mass. 

Mans,  Youth  and  the  Church,  The  Standard  Press,  Cin¬ 
cinnati,  0. 

Thompson,  Handbook  for  Workers  with  Young  People, 
Abingdon  Press,  New  York  City. 

Foster,  Problems  of  Intermediate  and  Senior  Teachers, 
The  Westminster  Press,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Foster,  The  Intermediate  Department,  The  Westminster 
Press,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

White,  All  the  Year  Round  Activities  for  Young  People, 
Christian  Board  of  Publication,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Hodgdon,  Promotion  Day  Plans  for  the  Young  People’s 
Division,  Christian  Board  of  Publication,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Dennis,  The  Training  School  of  Popularity,  Christian 
Board  of  Publication,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Specialization  Units  of  New  Standard  Teacher-training 
Course  (obtainable  from  all  publishers). 

MISSIONARY  METHODS. 

Diffendorfer,  Missionary  Education  in  Home  and  School, 
The  Abingdon  Press,  New  York  City. 

262 


A  CLASSIFIED  LIST  OF  BOOKS 


Beard,  Graded  Missionary  Education  in  the  Church  School , 
Griffith  &  Rowland  Press,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Hutchins,  Graded  Social  Service ,  The  University  of  Chica¬ 
go  Press,  Chicago,  Ill. 

Trull,  Missionary  Methods  for  Sunday-school  Workers, 
Missionary  Education  Movement,  New  York  City. 

Stowell,  Making  Missions  Beal  to  the  Teens „  Missionary 
Education  Movement,  New  York  City. 

Trull,  The  Sunday-school  Teacher  and  the  Program  of 
Jesus,  Missionary  Education  Movement,  New  York  City. 

Trull,  Missicmary  Proginms  and  Incidents,  Missionary  Ed¬ 
ucation  Movement,  New  York  City. 


263 


Date  Due 


FE27’51 

MR  2  5  ’53 

Ap  If' 

r*  ii  w;  w 

AP  2  h  *53 

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— 


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